


Four Houses

by Jmax523



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Four of 'em, Gen, I'm probably going to get the canon wrong, Multiverse, Multiverse Plot, Spoilers for Original Canon, and goddamn does it show, because i'm not far enough to know what the canon is, this whole idea was born from sheer laziness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 45,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26825179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jmax523/pseuds/Jmax523
Summary: The Snake, the Raven, the Lion, and the Badger, four and one, same in their differences, different in their similarities, each one both unique and identical, bound by fate, and shown worlds not quite their own.This might get confusing.(Why be ambiguous about the PC's house when you could use ALL THE HOUSES? Can't guarantee my upload schedule for this will be any better than my other work, but I really wanted to start actually writing something for this game.)
Relationships: Barnaby Lee & Player Character, Barnaby Lee/Ismelda Murk, Ben Copper & Player Character (Hogwarts Mystery), Jae Kim & Player Character, Penny Haywood/Player Character, Player Character (Hogwarts Mystery) & Nymphadora Tonks, Player Character/Merula Snyde, Rowan Khanna & Player Character, Skye Parkin/Player Character, Tulip Karasu & Player Character
Comments: 37
Kudos: 27





	1. -The Snake-

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JuniperTrees](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuniperTrees/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay Rosewood has dealt with a fair share of mysteries during his time at Hogwarts, but a mysterious gate in his brother’s old room will lead him to his most daunting one yet.

Jay Rosewood didn’t want to be important, but the last five years at Hogwarts showed him that he didn’t really have a choice. Of course, a lot of that was his fault, following in the path of his infamous brother, Jacob, naturally would draw some attention. He just wished the Daily Prophet would find some other Hogwarts student to write about.

Despite his infamy, Jay had made some excellent friends, whom he would readily admit he would be dead without, and with them around, Jay could ignore the rumors that seemed to follow him like a particularly dedicated mosquito. 

“Hey, Jaybird!” Rowan Khanna, Jay’s best friend, smiled at him as they walked out of Transfiguration, “You feeling alright? You looked out of it.”

“I’m fine, Farmhand,” Jay answered, “Just didn’t sleep much last night, couldn’t fall asleep.”

“If it happens again, I’m right across the dorm, I’ll hit you with something sturdy,” Rowan offered, “Can’t guarantee it’ll help, but…”.

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind,” Jay rolled his eyes, walking down to the dungeon with Rowan for his last class of the day, Potions.

Potions was just another prep class, learning about a potion, and practicing the process of making it without actually preparing it. Ultimately, the only reason Jay didn’t fall asleep during these classes were his tablemates, in addition to being absolutely terrified of Professor Snape. 

Rowan was always helpful in keeping him awake during classes, but ever since last year, his other tablemate, Merula, had been particularly helpful in keeping Jay invested. 

Merula had been Jay’s bitter rival since their first year, but as the years went by, their mutual respect for each other’s ability, in addition to the fact that they shared a house, sweetened that rivalry quite a bit, not that it was gone.

“The Mad Dog finally makes it,” Merula quipped as Jay and Rowan sat down, and Jay smiled, the nickname of Mad Dog was a new one in Merula’s repertoire, in reference to a particular secret of Jay’s that she hadn't shared, but certainly enjoyed teasing at. 

“Who would I be to keep you waiting, Merry?” Jay returned with his own nickname, grinning as Merula smacked him in the shoulder with her textbook.

The class itself wasn’t much special, though studying potions and poisons from previous classes with Rowan, as well as verbally sparring with Merula certainly meant Jay ended his week of classes on a pleasant note.

While Rowan and Jay were making their way back to their common room, however, Jay spotted a figure in a hood out of the corner of his eye.

Jay jerked around in the direction of the figure, but they had already darted off, up the stairs leading out of the dungeons.

“See something, Jay?” Rowan asked, and Jay shook his head, “Just someone in a hood, the usual.”

“Want to go check it out?” Rowan offered, and Jay raised a hand, “I’m gonna go see if I can see where they headed, we’ll track them down properly later.”

“Alright,” Rowan nodded, walking off as Jay headed for the stairs, “I’ll meet you back in our Dormitory!”.

Jay waved to his best friend as he walked off, turning up the stairs, following where he guessed the figure ran. Around a few more hallways, and Jay noticed a door past the Herbology classroom had been left ajar, the door to Jacob’s old hideout. 

Taking out a straight-aligned, cypress wand, Jay nudged open the door to Jacob’s hideout, closing the door shut behind him.

“Anybody home?” Jay called out into the room, flicking his wand and muttering, _“Lumos.”_

As the light from his wand lit up the room, he spotted a small green door on the far wall of the room, one that certainly hadn’t been there any other of the several times Jay had been in this room. 

“Am I really going to do this?” Jay could picture Rowan or Penny, another close friend of his, pulling him in the other direction as he reached for the metal handle of the door.

“Nothing ventured, I suppose…” Jay closed his hand around the door, pulling it open. As the door opened, there was no flash of light, no grand celebration, or really any indication that this wasn’t just another door.

“I’m so going to die in here…” Keeping his wand drawn, Jay crouched down to walk through the door, stepping into a circular room with an ornately designed red carpet, tall, wall-to-wall bookshelves, each one with books of only one color, red, blue, green, and yellow.

As Jay stood up in the room, he noticed three other doors, bearing colors similar to the books, blue to Jay’s north, yellow to the west, and red to the east, complimenting the green one directly behind him. 

In the center of the room were several leather chairs, and Jay noticed a student not much older than him, dressed in blue Ravenclaw robes sitting down in one. 

“About time you made it, Jay,” The student greeted, and Jay was half convinced to open fire with his wand immediately, but his curiosity won out.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Jay feigned an apology, “Who are you, and how in Merlin’s favorite rubber duck do you know who I am?”. 

“That will take some explaining,” the Ravenclaw answered, “Have a seat, there’s still a lot of this I don’t get myself.”

“I’m Juniper, Sixth-year Ravenclaw at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” The Ravenclaw introduced as Jay sat down, “Hey, Juniper, I’m Jay, and likewise, ‘cept I’m a Slytherin.”

“That would explain your door,” Juniper nodded, gesturing to the green door Jay had entered through, “And that makes the other two doors-”.

“Wait, back up,” Jay threw his hands up, interrupting Juniper. 

“What exactly are you?” Jay asked, gesturing to the familiar-looking student sitting across from him.

“Are you familiar with the Muggle theory of the multiverse?” Juniper pulled over a chalkboard, seemingly making it materialize from nothing, and Jay exasperatedly sank down into his chair, it was going to be one of those days.

Elsewhere, two other doors appeared, in two other hideouts, in two other Hogwarts, red and yellow, waiting for the ones that held their keys. 

-End Chapter 1-


	2. -The Raven-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juniper Arbre has been studying the Cursed Vaults since her first year, and she's seen her fair share of unbelievable magic, but one night in her brother's hideout, studying her brother's notes, she would find a lead to a mystery she could never have predicted.

Juniper Arbre thought Hogwarts was done surprising her. Of course, fate must have taken this as a challenge, because even by Juniper’s standards, a door appearing in her brother’s hideout in the middle of the night was weird. 

“Are you okay, Juniper Arbre?” Juniper’s friend, Tulip asked, noticing her gaze focused on the small blue door now set into the wall of Jacob’s hideout.

“Has there always been a door there?” Juniper asked, and Tulip put a hand on her shoulder, “There’s no door here but the one back out into the corridor, Juniper Arbre.”

“Zz- Hm? Did I miss something?” Another of Juniper’s friends, Jae Kim, snapped awake, pushing himself off the dusty crate he was sitting on, “What’re we looking at?”.

“The blue door, right there on the wall,” Juniper stepped closer, reaching out to the handle of the wooden door.

“Oh Merlin, she’s finally lost it,” Jae stretched his arms up over his head, yawning, “Alright, Juni, I’m headed to bed, don’t make any revelations without-”.

Juniper didn’t see this, but as soon as her hand made contact with the door, there was a brief moment of silence, before both Jae and Tulip started screaming, and Juniper quickly jerked away from the door.

“What, What!?” Juniper asked, and Jae, most of the color drained from his face, “You were here, and then you weren’t, and now you are again!”.

“You _vanished,_ Juniper Arbre,” Tulip shakily explained, “You looked like you were reaching out to grab something, and then…” Jae opened his hands in front of his face, “Poof, no more Juniper.”

“Whatever magic is hiding the door from you two must have extended to me…” Juniper quickly deduced, “Okay, don’t panic, I’m about to vanish again, I’m going to go through the door.”

“Wait, why don’t Tulip or I-” Jae paused, “Actually, no, that’s a horrid idea, why don’t we grab Merula or Rowan, and you lead them through?”.

Tulip nodded, “Yeah, going through a door only you can see sounds like walking right into a trap.”

“I’ll poke my head in and out,” Juniper reasoned, “If there’s something nasty on the other side, I’ll slam it shut.”

“Fine,” Tulip reluctantly agreed, and Jae raised an index finger, “I want it on record that this was entirely your idea when we have to explain to Merula why her girlfriend is dead.”

“Here we go…” Juniper reached out and pulled on the ornately crafted metal handle of the blue door, pulling it open.

Nothing roared at Juniper, no immediate magical effect, all Juniper could see from her side of the door was a similar door, but in green, as well as some bookshelves.

“I’m going in,” Juniper said, and Jae’s yelp of surprise told her that they could still hear her, even if they couldn’t see her.

Juniper crouch-walked through the small door, standing up in a circular room with a plain wooden floor, and Juniper noticed four doors in the cardinal directions relative to her. 

To the north was the green door she had seen earlier, and now, to the east, Juniper saw a yellow door, and to the west was a red one.

In between each door was a diagonal wall of bookshelves, from corner to corner of the octagonal room. Each wall that wasn’t covered with books or a door was decorated with stained glass, glittering brightly as though there was a perfectly angled sun behind them, each one forming the emblem of a different Hogwarts house, corresponding to the door’s color.

Juniper quickly took interest in the books, turning to the ones to her left, a massive shelf of blue leather books, each one with small gold writing on the spine. 

The blue books reached up for six shelves, stopping around halfway along the shelf. Looking down at a book on the fourth shelf, Juniper was shocked at the gold lettering along the spine of the book.

**//Juniper Arbre | Year 4 | Chapter 6\\\**

Immediately opening the book, Juniper quickly realized the book was a third-person account of the time in her fourth year where she snuck off into the Forbidden Forest, searching for the Cursed Vault hidden inside.

A quick inspection of the other books on the shelf revealed them to be similar, third-person accounts of Juniper’s time at Hogwarts, from the simple to the monumental. 

Setting the book back, Juniper wandered across the wood floor of the room, thinking to herself how much nicer this room would be with a carpet like the one in the Gryffindor common room. 

Suddenly, Juniper’s footsteps became muffled, and she looked down to see that the wood floor of the room had been replaced with an intricately-woven red and gold carpet.

Her mind suddenly jumped into detective mode, and Juniper thought about how much nicer these books would be if she had a nice leather armchair to sit in to read them. There was a creak of wood, and Juniper whirled around to see a chair identical to the one she had been picturing sitting in the center of the room. 

Satisfied with the results of her experiment, Juniper walked over to the bookshelf opposite her, the one stacked with green books, not much further than the blue ones.

Picking one at random, Juniper read the silver lettering along the green leather spine.

**//Jay Rosewood | Year 4 | Celestial Ball\\\**

The book was much shorter than the one from Juniper’s shelf, detailing the events of the Celestial Ball, a dance Juniper had attended herself in her fourth year.

This book, as she predicted, did not account Juniper’s experience with the dance, but a male Slytherin student by the same name as the one on the spine, Jay Rosewood. Jay Rosewood had a very pleasant experience at the dance, and had even chosen the same date as Juniper, his rival, Merula Synde. 

Replacing the book, Juniper wandered over to the green door, gently pulling on the handle, the door yielding, and as Juniper pulled the door all the way open, she saw an almost identical copy of Jacob’s hideout, minus Tulip and Jae.

Closing the door, Juniper turned back to the blue door behind her, reaching down and stepping through it. 

Back through the blue door, Juniper saw that Jae must have gone to roust some backup, as a very tired Rowan, Tonks, and Merula had joined them in Jacob’s hideout.

The blue door shut behind Juniper, and all five people jumped back, Rowan, in particular, stumbling over a table as Juniper stood up.

“ARBRE!” Merula shrieked, wrapping her arms around Juniper’s waist and kissing her, before quickly pulling back to smack Juniper across the cheek, “What the hell were you thinking? Were you thinking at all?”.

“You should’ve waited for us, Junebug,” Tonks crossed her arms as she recovered from her shock, “I can’t believe you, going off on an adventure without your friends!”.

“While I don’t agree with her reasoning,” Rowan followed, shifting her hair out of her eyes as she stood up, “Tonks is right, if there really is some door there, you shouldn’t have gone through alone.”

“I don’t know if you could follow me, Rowan,” Juniper reasoned, “I think it’s meant just for me.”

“How do you figure that?” Tulip asked, and Juniper thought about the books in the room she had found, “It asked for me by name, it knew who I was.”

“Well, you’re not going back through there until we figure out how to get in,” Merula stated, releasing Juniper and jabbing a finger into her chest, “At least with the vaults, you can bring back-up!”.

“I need to go back through, Merula, and I need to do it soon,” Juniper answered, the detective part of her overriding any concern she might have had about the door’s safety.

“Well, how do you know that?” Rowan asked, “And if you say that you have a hunch, I’m going to lock you in the Full-Body Bind Curse and tie you to your bed.”

“I think…” Juniper looked back at the door, remembering the green book she had read, ‘Jay Rosewood’, why was that name so familiar?

“...I think there’s someone there I need to meet with.”

-End Chapter 2-


	3. -The Lion-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dylan Lavorre was the pride of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, riding high on what had been, by his standards, a pleasant year at Hogwarts. Figures that it all starts to change one winter day, no different than any other.

“This is the life,” Dylan Lavorre assured himself, hundreds of feet from the ground. 

The snowy peaks of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch peeked out from below Dylan, small flecks of snow landing on Dylan’s face as he lounged on his broom, his crimson school robes flapping in the winter wind. 

“Lavorre!” Dylan heard Skye Parkin, a teammate on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, yell up from the pitch, “Get down here, you’re gonna freeze!”.

Properly mounting himself on his broom, Dylan dropped into a dive, the frosty air whipping past his face as the snow-covered pitch appeared below him as he shot down.

Pulling himself up just before he hit the ground, Dylan hopped off his broom and tucked it under his arm as Skye walked out onto the pitch, holding a red and yellow scarf.

“I’m starting to think you plan on dying on this pitch,” Skye commented as Dylan accepted the scarf, wrapping it around his neck, before smiling to Skye, “I’m hearing this from you?”.

“That’s exactly why you should be worried!” Skye lobbed back, “This blizzard hasn’t let up for days, we’re not going to be playing any proper matches soon.”

“All the more reason to practice,” Dylan answered, running a hand through his short red hair, “When we do get back on the pitch, it’s gonna be the players like me that decide the winners.”

“It’s gonna be the players like you that get sent to Madame Pomfrey with frostbite,” Skye corrected, “Now, as your teammate, for the love of Merlin, go do anything else, out of this cold.”

“And if I don’t?” Dylan teased, already planning on heading in, if mostly for Skye’s sake.

“Well, I’m sure Orion would love to come out and help you practice if you’re that dedicated…” Skye offered, though her tone sounded much more like she was making a threat.

“Alright, alright, I’m headed in,” Dylan resigned, “The last thing I want to see is what kind of animal he wants to make me balance around in this cold…”.

Inside that castle, Skye stretched, “Well, seeing as we’ve got the day, why don’t we head back to the common room and warm up?”.

“Not a half-bad idea, Parkin,” Dylan noted, the warmth of the castle making him notice how bitterly cold he actually was. 

“Your friend Rowan’s already in there studying, right?” Skye asked, and Dylan nodded, “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind some company…”. 

As Dylan and Skye passed the corridor that led to the Herbology greenhouses on their way to the common room, Dylan remembered that he had stashed his books in his brother Jacob's old hideout when he went down to the pitch.

“Just a sec, Skye, I left my stuff in a little corner here so it wouldn’t get in the snow,” Dylan leaned down, kissed Skye’s cheek, and walked off in the direction of Jacob’s hideout, “I’ll catch up with you in the tower!”.

“Quick feet, Lavorre!” Skye waved as she turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Dylan to quickly duck into his brother’s hideout as soon as she was out of sight. 

The hideout was just as dusty and creepy as Dylan remembered it, strewn wall-to-wall with notes on the Cursed Vaults, strange symbols, and textbooks of varying legality, most of which were in languages Dylan couldn’t understand.

Right where Dylan had left it, on a small wooden chair in a far corner of the room, Dylan spotted his bag, as well as a new addition to the room Dylan didn’t remember from any of his visits to this room. 

Set into the wall of the room was a small door made of red-painted wood, with the same stone archway around it as almost every other door in Hogwarts.

Slowly, Dylan closed a hand around the top of the door, yanking on the top to no avail, only showing that the door was built into the wall, despite having never been present before. 

Reaching down and closing his hand around the door’s metal handle, Dylan found that the door swung open with little resistance. Drawing his wand, Dylan slowly squeezed his athletic frame through the small door. Standing up in the room, Dylan immediately focused on the center, where two other people were already present. 

One of the two was a girl dressed in blue Ravenclaw robes, standing in front of a chalkboard covered with a web of colored lines. The other was a Slytherin, not much older than Dylan himself, sitting in a leather chair and intently listening to the girl.

Eventually, the Slytherin looked over and saw Dylan, and he stood up out of his chair, “Speak of the devil…” the Ravenclaw turned to look at Dylan, and the girl waved, “Hello, you must have some questions.”

“Yeah, a few,” Dylan nodded, and the Slytherin gestured to the chairs in the center of the room, “Pull up a chair, pal, this is gonna take some explaining.”

“Wait, I need to tell Skye that I’m gonna be late,” Dylan said, and the Slytherin rolled his eyes, “Trust me, buddy, she’s not gonna believe you.”

“It’s Dylan,” The Ravenclaw said, and Dylan immediately drew his short, ash wand from his robes, aiming it at the Ravenclaw, “How do you know my name?”.

The Slytherin drew his own wand, “Calm down, pal, you’re on the books, that’s how she knows.”

Dylan looked over at a wall of the room, noticing a shelf of red books, all of them bearing a year that seemed to correspond with the shelf, as well as Dylan’s full name.

“What is this place?” Dylan asked, turning to train his wand on the Slytherin, who shrugged, “That’s what we’re trying to figure out, sit down, we’ll catch you up.”

“Perfect,” The Ravenclaw commented as Dylan sat down in one of the empty chairs in the center of the room, “Now, where were we, Jay?”.

“Multiverse Theory,” The Slytherin, apparently the ‘Jay’ the Ravenclaw was referring to, stowed his wand in his robe, returning to his seat.

“Now, stay with us, Dylan, this may get complicated,” The Ravenclaw apologized, and Dylan nodded, “I’ll try to keep up.”

The Ravenclaw turned back to the chalkboard, and Dylan felt a sinking feeling as he looked around the room, noticing the empty chair across from him.

-End Chapter 3-


	4. -The Badger-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, finally, we come to Skylar Valentine, a kind soul, popular among her friends, and friendly with the populace. However, some pre-party cleanup may introduce her to some friends too bizarre to get used to, even for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry about the repetitive few chapters, the story in earnest starts from here. As always, thanks for reading!)

The woods around the walled-off area where Care Of Magical Creatures took place were so relaxing, especially during the fall, the way the sun shone down through the multicolored leaves was especially captivating.

“Careful, Ms. Valentine!” Professor Kettleburn’s voice snapped the daydreaming Hufflepuff out of her trance, returning her attention to the shadowy black horse the class had gathered around.

“Thestrals are not a beast to allow your mind to wander around, Ms. Valentine,” Professor Kettleburn continued, before directing his gave up into the distance, “Why, when I was just a few years older than you…”.

“And he’s off, nice work, Skylar,” a head of bright pink hair snickered from next to the girl, “At this rate, we won’t have to do anything in class but listen to all the times Professor Kettleburn injured himself.”

“I didn’t mean to…” Skylar apologized, and Tonks laughed, “You just got distracted? Seriously, this is great, it’s like having a free period.”

“As much as I don’t want to agree,” Penny Haywood, another Hufflepuff, agreed from next to Skylar, “I will admit, the thestrals do scare me a bit…”.

“I thought you couldn't see them?” Skylar asked, and Penny nodded, “Well, yeah, that’s the scary part, it could be doing anything, anything at all, and I’d have no idea.”

“I wouldn’t let it do anything to you guys,” Skylar assured, heroically sweeping her long, dirty blond hair back, “Well, maybe Tonks…”.

“Oh, I see how it is…” Tonks laughed, and the three continued to chat for the remainder of the class.

“...But given the situation, I just had to grab it with my bare hand and wrench the Unicorn’s horn out of my leg the old-fashioned way!” Professor Kettleburn looked down at the watch on his good arm, “Oh my, that time already? Class dismissed, and enjoy your weekends, students!”.

“Meet in Jacob’s room after lights out this Sunday?” Tonks suggested as the three girls walked back towards the castle, and Skylar smiled, “Sure, Tonks, what’s the occasion?”.

“Well, the winter’s coming up, and I may or may not have gotten a certain smuggler to lift in enough firewhiskey for a particular team of detectives…” Tonks flashed a conniving grin, and for what must have been the thousandth time, Skylar wondered how the cunning prankster had ended up in Hufflepuff. 

“Sign me up!” Penny agreed, and Skylar beamed, “Quite a celebration for the last weekend of fall, are we sure you don’t have any ulterior motives, Tonks?”.

“Me? Scheme against my friends?” Tonks mocked an offended gasp, “The very idea that I would use the guise of a celebration to get a certain someone to confess certain feelings to a certain someone else is never something that came to mind!”.

“If we’re drinking in Jacob’s room, I’m gonna shift some stuff around so we’ve got room for whatever you’re planning, Tonks,” Skylar quickly followed, darting her eyes away from Penny, and Penny giggled, “You know what I’m looking forward to? Drunk Ben.”

“Oh, that’s gonna be a sight,” Tonks agreed, “Thanks for that, Skylar, we’ll meet you there with grandpa’s cough medicine soon!”.

Down in Jacob’s room, Skylar started to shift tables and chairs around the room, stacking half-written notes and dusty books to open up the room, leaving just enough room for all of Skylar’s friends, with room for a few more. 

Impressed with her work, Skylar saw a wooden yellow door set into the wall of Jacob’s room. Her curiosity immediately overriding any sense of self-preservation, Skylar leaned down, pulling open the door and walking through. 

The room on the other side of the door was ornately decorated, torches set along the octagonal walls, mostly empty bookshelves stacked up to a roof that made Skylar think of a night sky, an inky black void dotted with glowing stars.

In each direction from Skylar was another door, glittering stained glass surrounded doors similar to the one Skylar had walked through.

“Like clockwork…” A low, sleepy drawl drew Skylar’s attention to the center of the room. 

“Our fourth member arrives,” The owner of a voice was a Slytherin about Skylar’s age, who, appearance-wise, made Skylar think of Merula, but with straighter, more blonde hair, and a slightly less aggressive expression on his face.

“Hello,” Another person greeted, this time a Ravenclaw girl, black wire glasses perched over a tan, freckled complexion, and sweeping away long, black, almost bluish hair, “You must be Skylar Valentine.”

“How do you know my name,” A third voice asked the question Skylar was about to ask, a muscular Gryffindor with short red hair, who waved to Skylar.

“Trust me, we’ve done this a few times, have some tea,” Suddenly, the Slytherin boy was holding a cup and saucer, and walked up to Skylar to offer it.

“Well, yeah, I would like to know that,” Skylar answered, accepting the tea, slowly sipping on the warm, clear green liquid inside the cup.

“We know about your brother, Jacob,” The Ravenclaw added, not to Skylar’s surprise, she figured anyone who knew her would know her brother.

“We know about your hunt for the Cursed Vaults,” The Gryffindor continued, again, to little surprise, but it was what the Slytherin said that got Skylar’s attention.

“Your Patronus is a greyhound, and you first successfully summoned it your fourth year, defending your friend, Nymphadora Tonks, but not before allowing your rival, Merula Synde, to attempt it, of which she was partially successful.”

Skylar almost dropped the tea in her hands. The Slytherin boy was dead on, right down to Merula casting the incorporeal Patronus first, almost like he had been there to see it happen.

“How could you possibly have known that? Who in Merlin’s prized beard trimmings are you people?” Skylar demanded, and the Slytherin boy gestured to an open chair in the center of the room, “You might wanna sit down first.”

“The short version is,” The Gryffindor boy started as Skylar sat down, “We’re your friends.”

“We’re also you,” The Slytherin boy added, not helping the mounting confusion in Sklyar’s head, and she turned to the Ravenclaw girl.

“Short version is confusing, is the long version any better?” The Ravenclaw girl nodded, “It should help clear some of your larger questions.”

“Buckle up, Sunny,” The Slytherin boy leaned back in his chair, “Your life is about to get four times as complicated.”

Four doors open, four paths started. Why were they opened, and how were they chosen? Four houses become one story, and a new mystery begins…

-End Chapter 4-


	5. -Not Quite Ourselves-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four who found their doors meet in a room outside of any Hogwarts Castle, and begin to piece together exactly what they are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Now we get to the story proper, so sorry if I start to slow down. Thanks a million for the early support!)

“So who goes first here?” Jay asked the three students sitting around him, “Should we take straws, or go by age…?”.

“What do we even say? You guys clearly know how I am, but I don’t know who any of you are!” Skylar added, before Dylan cleared his throat.

“We’ll do the obvious parts first, name, year, and…” Dylan trailed off, obviously trying to come up with some third trait.

“...How about a distinguishing feature?” Juniper suggested, “Something that clearly makes us stick out could help us find a common thread.”

“Alright, that works,” Dylan clapped his hands together, waving to the small group around him, “I’m Dylan Lavorre, Sixth-Year Gryffindor, and I’m the best Chaser on our house’s team, and we’re on track to win our third house cup in a row.”

“Impressive,” Juniper commented, before also waving to the group, “I am Juniper Arbre, now in my sixth year at Hogwarts as a Ravenclaw, and I keep a veritable menagerie of magical creatures on Hogwarts grounds, with the support of Rubeus Hagrid.”

“Oh, Hagrid’s great!” Skylar followed, “Uh, I guess I’ll go next...”.

“I’m Skylar Valentine, I’m also a Sixth-year, but I’m a Hufflepuff. There’s the Patronus thing, but you guys know that one… Oh! I have an owl, her name is Wanderlust, and I’ve trained her in recognizing and retrieving my wand from long distances!”.

“I can think of more than one time that could’ve been useful…” Jay leaned back in his chair, “I guess that makes it my turn? Alright, how’s this? My name’s Jay Rosewood, three guesses what year I am, and I’m a proud Slytherin.”

“As for defining features… How good are y’all at keeping secrets?” The other three all offered different levels of confirmation, “Like a vault,” from Dylan, “Nobody that doesn’t already know will hear of it,” Juniper nodded, and Skylar shrugged, “I’ll probably forget, anyway.”

“Alright, well, how’s this?” Jay stood up from his chair, and with a whirl of green and black robes, a large, black and brown German Shepherd stood panting where Jay had been a moment ago.

“You’re an Animagus?” Dylan asked as Jay returned, sinking back down into his chair, “Bingo, but I'm unregistered, and not a lot of people around my school know, so keep it hush-hush.”

“Well, with introductions out of the way, what now?” Dylan asked, and Skylar raised a hand, “Can someone run me through exactly who you guys are, again?”.

“Again, I will ask you how familiar you are with the Muggle theory of the multiverse,” Juniper stood back up to face her chalkboard.

“Again, we will ask you to give us the simple version, we all have places to go,” Jay sighed, and Juniper, rolling her eyes, started to draw a line on the far end of the chalkboard.

“Imagine, for a moment, every decision you’ve ever made, and the consequences that came from them. Now, picture what might have happened if you hadn’t made that decision.”

Branching off from the white line, Juniper drew four lines branching off, “The theory posits that with every decision you’ve ever made, a new world is created, one where you took that option, and one where you did not.”

“This can also apply to a more fundamental scale,” Juniper tapped each of the four lines with her wand, and each one shifted to one of four house colors, red, blue, yellow, and green.

“I believe that we are all ‘versions’ of each other, with some ‘detail’ differences, but ultimately, a similar ‘core’.”

“Things like having a brother named Jacob, that vanished looking for the Cursed Vaults,” Dylan clarified, and Juniper adjusted her glasses, the reflected light momentarily hiding her eyes behind opaque silver, “Precisely.”

“So, you guys are me, but from different houses?” Skylar attempted to clarify, “Then what’s this place?”.

“I… er… have no idea,” Juniper sheepishly admitted, “My best hypothesis is that this is some sort of crossing point for our worlds, which would explain our pull over it.”

“Is that where all this stuff is coming from?” Skylar gestured to the chairs, chalkboard, and books surrounding them.

“The books were here from the start, but other than that, yeah,” Jay shrugged, “It’s kinda like the place can hear us.”

“Of course, it seems like there’s limits,” Dylan clarified, “I tried summonin’ Godric Gryffindor’s sword, and all I got was a headache.”

“Remembering our previous engagements, I suggest we meet back here later to discuss this topic in earnest,” Juniper interrupted.

“I’ve got a weekend coming up, so I can meet you guys back here tomorrow,” Skylar suggested, and the three others nodded, before Juniper noted, “It would appear that our schedules align, but, one more thing…”.

“Do any of you have a moment to spare to attempt to enter my world?” Juniper requested, “I would like to see if travel between our universes is possible, and, as well, my friends wouldn’t believe what happened here if I did not have proof.”

“I gotta meet Skye, she’s waitin’ for me in the Tower,” Dylan explained apologetically, and Skylar took a similar tone, “Yeah, my friends are gonna notice I’m gone soon if I don’t hurry.”

“I’ll do it,” Jay volunteered, “Rowan’s probably already asleep, and nobody really needs me ‘til morning.”

“Much obliged, Jay,” Juniper nodded, and Dylan quickly snapped his fingers, “Hey, can we use code names?”.

“Why?” Jay asked incredulously, and Dylan scratched the back of his neck, “Well, her name is Skylar, and my girlfriend back in my world’s name is Skye. Plus… I just think it would sound cool.”

After a moment of silence, Jay shrugged, “I’m down,” Skylar smiled, “Sure! I imagine it would get confusing for a few other people too.”

“I suggest we use our house animals,” Juniper suggested, “For quick association, and being simple to remember.”

“Hell yeah, Lion out, see you guys tomorrow!” Dylan grinned, before striding back to his door.

“Good luck, guys, Badger out, I guess?” Skylar attempted, before awkwardly shuffling back to her door, waving goodbye.

“Welp,” Jay said bluntly as he and Juniper faced the blue door, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh, Raven?”.

“If you’re ready, Snake,” Juniper put a hand around the door’s handle, and Jay pushed it open at the same time.

“Let’s get you introduced to a bunch of people you already know.”

-End Chapter 5-


	6. -In The Name Of Curiosity-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Raven's allies lie in wait for their friend, unaware of the extra visitor she has brought along, who may help give a perspective on how different these four may be.

Tucked in a forgotten corner of Hogwarts castle, five students sat and waited for their friend. Some were starting to fall asleep, others stayed vigilant, frequently glancing over to the empty patch of wall their friend had been crouching near. 

“She’s been in there too long,” Merula drew her wand, “If there’s really a room there, it’s just on the opposite side of that wall. I’ll blast it down if I have to.”

“Or,” Rowan quickly jumped up, “You could be locking Juniper in there forever, the door she went through could be bound to that wall!”.

“We can’t just sit here and wait!” Merula shot back, “She could need us, and I’m not sitting here and letting this happen.”

 _“Confr-”_ Before Merula could finish her spell, however, a figure suddenly materialized from the wall, dropping facedown to the floor of Jacob’s hideout.

“Ow…” The figure rolled over, revealing a Slytherin student about the same age as the others in the room, but clearly not Juniper.

“Next time, one of you guys is coming with me…” Jay laughed as he picked himself up off the ground, before suddenly being slammed up against a wall of the room by Merula, aiming her wand at the boy’s face.

“What did you do with Arbre? Where is she?” Merula held her wand closer to Jay’s head, who quickly raised his hands defensively, “What are you talking about? I am Juniper!”.

“Do you think we’re blind?” Merula shot, “That’s it, I’m throwing this creep into the lake!”.

“No, Merula, calm down, you’re not…” Jay tried to reason, before cutting himself off, “What’s wrong with my voice?”.

Surprised, Merula stepped back, and Jay looked down, “Why am I wearing Slytherin robes…?”.

Jay started screaming in terror as he scanned himself, and quickly, all five students started to panic as they realized what had happened.

“AAAAHHH- Nah, I’m just kiddin’,” Jay said, before yelling over to the wall, “You’re clear, Raven!”.

From right next to where Tulip had moved during the commotion, Juniper suddenly materialized, causing her to release a string of curses far too rapidly to actually be understood.

“Hello everyone,” Juniper waved, “I’m back.”

There was a moment of silence. Slowly, Rowan raised her hand.

“I have a few questions.”

“All in good time, Rowan,” Juniper assured, “First, I’d like to tell you all what I found on the other side of the door.”

Juniper launched into her explanation, describing the room she had found, with the bookshelves and the doors, the contents of the bookshelves, and the strange people she met in that room.

“Which brings me to…” Juniper gestured to Jay, who waved.

“Heya. I’m Jay,” Jay introduced, “And for the record, I wasn’t lying before, I am Juniper. Kind of.”

Jay attempted to explain his relation to Juniper, but only after Juniper started to help did the others start to believe him. Not that they entirely understood. 

“I want it on record that I still don’t buy it,” Merula stated as Jay finished, prompting him to walk over and lean into Merula’s ear.

“Your name means Blackbird. You told Juniper that during your dance at the Celestial Ball.”

“She told-” Merula started to ask, but Jay leaned back away, “She didn’t tell me anything.”

“Then how would you know that?” Merula demanded before Jay put a hand up over his chest, “That’s how my Merula told me.”

After a pause, Merula nodded, “He’s for real. This is another Juniper, whatever the hell that means.”

“I’m sure you all have questions…” Juniper started, before Tonks spoke up over her, “Are you snogging Merula in your universe too?” Rowan jumped in, “Are we still friends in your universe?” and finally, Jae jumped in with, “Why are you a guy if Juniper is a girl?”.

Jay clapped his hands together, smiling, “One, yes, but she doesn’t want me telling anyone yet, two, best friends, Rowan, and three, yes.”

“Wouldn’t another version of Juniper be a Ravenclaw too?” Tulip asked, “What’s with the green robes?”.

“That’s the other part of my theory,” Juniper answered, “Whatever event has created this connection between our worlds, it has deliberately called for versions of me that are not identical, but share a similar ‘core’.”

“Okay… why?” Tonks asked, and Jay laughed, “Isn’t that the question of the hour, Tonks.”

“I would like to have Jay observe more of this world so we could find any notable differences, but I imagine you must be returning home as well, Jay,” Juniper decided, and Jay looked down at his watch.

“I’d say I’ve got time for a few more questions, if you guys have them,” Jay noted, “I’ve still got plenty of time before morning in my world, assuming my watch is still on my time.”

“Are any of us much different in your universe?” Merula asked, and Jay went around the circle, pointing at each person there one by one.

“Jae, I call you ‘Solo’, since our names are so similar, Tonks, you’ve pretended to be me quite a few times, and can do an exact imitation of my voice, Rowan, you’re a guy too, Tulip, I once referred to you as the most valuable asset in our group and you still haven’t let me forget it, and Merula, you have a few different nicknames for me, some for in public, and some for when it’s just you and me.”

“Anything else?”. 

“I don’t think so, Jay,” Juniper reasoned, before Jae piped up, “Wait, why do you call me Solo?”. 

“A Muggle movie that I watched with my friends one Christmas had a smuggler named Solo, and I thought it was perfect to stop getting each other confused.”

“Why have I had to pretend to be you?” Tonks asked, and Jay smiled, “A lot of reasons, but all I’ve needed to tell you is that you need to ditch class, and you were on board,” Tonks laughed, “Yeah, that tracks.”

“I’m just trying to picture myself as a boy…” Rowan mused, and Jay waved a hand dismissively, “It’s basically just you with slightly shorter hair.”

“You think I’m the most important person in this group?” Tulip grinned, and Jay buried his face in his palms, “I should’ve said something else. I have no idea whether that’s true in this world too, Tulip.”

Merula had no response to what Jay had said, simply walking over to Juniper and burying her face in the crook of her neck, wrapping her arms around her neck, “Too much at once, going to bed.”

“We should all do the same,” Juniper suggested, turning to Jay, “I trust you can get back to your world safely?”.

“No problem, Raven,” Jay assured Juniper as she lifted up Merula, wrapping the sleepy Slytherin girl’s legs around her waist.

Jay reached down to the small blue door and walked back through the octagonal room to his door.

Back in Jacob’s hideout, Jay was surprised at how dark the room was, reaching into his robe for his wand.

 _“Lumos,”_ The tip of Jay’s wand illuminated, and as the room lit up, it revealed Merula and Rowan, standing at the opposite end of the room, wands raised in their dueling stances.

Jay quickly threw up his hands, saying, “Cypress wood, phoenix feather core, thirteen inches in length, slightly springy flexibility,” The exact details of his wand. 

“Oh, thank Merlin,” Rowan stowed his wand, as did Merula, before walking over to smack Jay across the face with the back of his hand, “Where the hell have you been? Have you been sitting here in the dark all night?”.

“It’s a long story, I’ll explain in the morning,” Jay assured, yawning, “For now, I’m exhausted, and if I don’t get to bed soon, I’m gonna pass out.”

“We can’t get back to the common room, Rosewood,” Merula huffed, “Peeves is making trouble in the greenhouses and Filch has an eagle-eye on this corridor.”

“Then I’m sleeping here,” Jay reasoned, taking off his outer robe and sitting against a stack of dusty tomes.

“Sign me up,” Rowan dropped down next to his friend, putting his head on Jay’s lap, and Merula scoffed, “Fine. But none of you say a word of this to anyone.”

Merula sat down next to Jay, resting her head on his shoulder, “Y’know, you could’ve at least come back hurt or something… when you come back alright it feels like we wasted our time.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint, Emerald,” Jay kissed the top of Merula’s head, wrapping one arm around Merula’s shoulder, and setting the other on Rowan, scratching his head while he purred like a cat in Jay’s lap, already fast asleep. 

Slowly, Jay let his head rest against the old books behind him, feeling Merula shift around for a moment, before sinking down against him, and Jay let himself fall asleep.

One by one, in their rooms, with their friends, in their own worlds, the four students fell asleep, thinking about what to say to themselves come the morning.

-End Chapter 6-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Six in three, I definitely need to slow down. I'm going to start focusing on some other projects, so expect updates here to slow down, but don't worry, I have no plans to leave this story unfinished!)


	7. -Welcome To The Archive-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief discussion names the mysterious room that brought the four together, and they decide to split off into pairs, one for answers, one for a moment of reprieve, both unsure of what waits for them on the other side.

Morning rose over a dusty corner of Hogwarts castle, and one of the members of a small pile of Slytherin students slowly drifted awake.

Jay looked around Jacob’s hideout, and all the sleep still weighing on his mind shot away as he spotted the Hufflepuff girl sitting in a chair across from him, scribbling in a sketchbook in her hand.

“Badger?” Jay hissed, and Skylar waved, cheerily whispering, “Hi Snake! You slept late and Raven sent me to check on you, and you guys just looked so cute like this!”.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jay hissed again, and Skylar turned her sketchbook around to show him a drawing of the trio sleeping, and Jay raised an eyebrow, “That’s… really good, actually.”

“Thanks…” Skylar looked down at Rowan, sleeping in Jay’s lap, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen that face, so I wanted at least some way to remember them.”

“Something happened to your Rowan?” Jay asked, and Skylar looked away, “She’s… yeah. Something happened. Maybe it’s better I don’t say.”

“I… I’m sorry for your loss,” Jay apologized, his chest getting heavy as he looked down at his sleeping friend. 

“It’s nice to see her… him, actually, I guess,” Skylar attempted a weak smile, “This is still really confusing.”

“You’re telling me,” Jay nodded, “I’m sorta stuck here until these two wake up, you’re free to hang out here ‘til then.”

Skylar smiled, looking over to Merula, still nuzzled into the crook of Jay’s neck, “It’s weird seeing her like this. Peaceful, I mean.”

“It’s still pretty rare to see her like this,” Jay purred, slowly and carefully sweeping some fallen hair out of Merula’s eyes, and she stirred slightly, unconsciously putting her arm around Jay’s neck.

“She was so awful my first year,” Skylar remembered, “It took all my will not to hex her cross-eyed every time we met.”

“Same here, but after a while…” Jay affirmed, “...I think there’s at least a little bit of respect there.”

“Not that any of her will ever say it to any of us,” Skylar snickered.

“That, we know, is a constant in any universe,” Jay laughed, “Grass grows, birds fly, sun shines…”.

“...Merula is a tsundere,” Skylar finished, shifting her hair to cover one of her eyes, “I-It’s not like respect you as an equal or anything, you toad!”. 

Rowan shifted in Jay’s lap, and Skylar slowly stood up, tucking her sketchbook into her robes, “I’ll tell Raven what’s going on. Thanks for letting me see Rowan again, kind of.”

“Thanks for coming by, Badger,” Jay whispered as Skylar stepped back through the door, and the boy in his lap drifted awake.

“You with me, Ro?” Jay asked as Rowan rolled around, shifting his head to look up at Jay, “Good morning, Spectacles.”

“I can see why Merula likes sleeping there…” Rowan smiled as he sat up, “You make for a good pillow, Scruffy.”

“At least there’s some use to him…” A groggy Merula commented, still resting on Jay’s shoulder, and he smiled, “Aww, are you angry that Spectacles took your spot, Songbird?”. 

“No…” Merula gave a tired huff before she realized what Jay had asked, pushing herself off of Jay, “I mean, what? No! What spot? I don’t have a favorite place to sleep on you!”.

“Nice save,” Jay grinned, leaning over to plant a kiss on Merula’s cheek, and standing up to walk over to the door.

“Wait for a second, Scruffy,” Rowan put a hand on Jay’s shoulder, “You still owe us an explanation of where you were last night.”

“Right, I do,” Jay gave a rough explanation of what happened, the people in the room, and the people he talked to in Raven’s version of Jacob’s room. 

“...Okay, addendum,” Rowan followed as Jay finished, “You owe us an explanation that isn’t completely mad.”

“Here’s the thing, Spectacles, I don’t have one of those either, and I’m trying to figure one out.”

Begrudgingly, Rowan nodded, “Fine, but as soon as you get one, you bring it directly to me.”

“Count on it,” Jay agreed, “I couldn’t do this without my best mate anyhow.”

“Hey!” Merula yelled, “You come to me once you figure this out, too!”. Jay flashed a smug grin to Merula, “Songbird, are you worried about me?”.

“No!” Merula quickly denied, “I just know that eventually, you’re going to need help, and I don’t want to have to listen to a seven-hour retelling of how you screwed up.”. Jay grinned, reaching down to the door, “Ever the pragmatist, Songbird…”.

Vanishing through the door, Jay spotted Juniper, Dylan, and Skylar sat in the center of the room, Juniper was intently reading one of the books from Jay’s bookshelf, and Dylan and Skylar appeared to be locked in conversation.

“But we have a Library, all of our schools do!” Dylan argued, and Skylar returned with, “And Nexus makes it sound like this is one of those Muggle Science Fiction movies!”.

“What are we yelling about?” Jay asked as he sat down across from Juniper, who answered without looking up from her book, “We’re trying to figure out what to call this place.”

“We’ve come down to my idea, The Library,” Skylar added, “Lion’s idea, The Nexus, and Raven’s idea, The Hub.”

“Solid ideas, I can see why we’re stuck on this…” Jay mused, “Maybe if we could find some kind of middle point…”.

After a moment of consideration, Skylar looked over to the book in Juniper’s hands, and she gasped, “Hey, how about The Archive?”.

“The Archive…” Dylan repeated, “I like it!”.

“It does have a nice aura of mystery,” Jay agreed, “Raven?”.

“It makes sense, this place does seem to be an archive of our times at Hogwarts…” Juniper nodded, “Very well, then we’re in agreement, we’ll call this place, ‘The Archive’.”

“Well then,” A large tankard appeared in Skylar’s hand, and she raised it, “To the Archive!”.

“To the Archive!” Jay and Dylan echoed, a similar tankard appearing in Dylan’s hand, and a brown, glass bottle appearing in Jay’s. 

“Actually, this celebration has reminded me of another, more pressing inquiry about this place that I’ve had,” Juniper noted, “Can anyone figure out why we’re able to do…”.

A wine glass of a red liquid appeared in Juniper’s hand, the stem tucked between her fingers, “...this?”.

“You drink, Raven?” Skylar asked, and Juniper shook her head, “Not right now, this is cranberry juice. I just like the way wine glasses sit in my hand.”

“We’ve got the books,” Jay gestured to the shelves surrounding them, “We’re obviously important, at least in regards to why The Archive is here.”

“Another damn question to put on the list…” Dylan muttered, “Is there anything we do know about… any of this?”.

“It wasn’t an accident that our doors appeared,” Juniper answered, and Skylar nodded, “Yeah, this is too weird to not be something that happened for a reason.”

“Speaking of questions, Raven, is that one of my books?” Jay asked, and Juniper nodded, “Yes, it’s one of the ones that isn’t numbered, the one about your first date. Is it true that you _growled_ at Talbott when he joked about his turf?”.

“In my defense, I was already angry at the time,” Jay answered, standing up from his chair and stretching. 

“Who was it with?” Dylan asked, and Jay nonchalantly shrugged, “Merula.”

When he heard Jay’s answer, Dylan’s eyes widened, “...Like, Snyde, Merula?”.

“That’s the one,” Jay answered, and one of Dylan’s eyebrows shot up, “Did- didja lose a bet or somethin’?”.

“Nope, not that time, just a series of events that sorta spiraled down into a date,” Jay explained.

“Why, then?” Dylan followed, earning a confused look from Jay, “Well, I could give the deep, impactful answer I gave her, but the short version is that I admire her determination and she thinks I’m the most devastatingly handsome wizard to ever live.”

Glancing over at Juniper’s narrowed eyes, Jay quickly added, “Maybe just the mutual respect thing.”. Dylan shrugged his shoulders, “Sounds like you got lucky with a good Merula then, Snake, mine's a piece of work, and that's being nice.”

“I imagine Raven got pretty lucky with her Merula, too…” Jay cracked, giving an aside glance to Juniper, and ducking to dodge the green book that was suddenly hurled at his head. 

“Merlin’s nephew, forget I asked,” Dylan shivered, “That’s not an image that’s coming out of my head…”.

“It’s weird to think about different versions of our friends…” Skylar interrupted, having flipped over in her chair, her legs now hanging over the back of the chair.

“Like having a genderswapped Rowan,” Jay mentioned, “That was definitely one of the weirder things I’ve ever seen.”

“Hey, Lion?” Skylar asked, “You play Quidditch, right? Would you mind if I came by and watched you guys practice? I’ve never really known any Quidditch players before.”

“Sure, but what about your house team?” Dylan asked, and Skylar shook her head, “Hufflepuff team this year is barely worth watching, plus it would be cool to actually know who I’m watching.”

“Sure, yeah! We’ve got a friendly match later today, actually!” Dylan remembered turning to his other two counterparts, “Snake, Raven, you guys in?”.

“I was actually planning on returning to my universe with Snake later today,” Juniper answered, “I think if we approached my Headmaster Dumbledore with this, using you as evidence, he may be able to steer us towards why this has happened.”

“And how do you know that Dumbledore won’t write you off as a nutter, or worse, cart me off to the Ministry so they can figure out what I am?” Jay shot back, more aggressively than he may have intended. 

“No one is going to the Ministry, Snake, least of all me, I trust the Ministry as far as I can throw Fudge himself,” Juniper leaned forward in her chair, her face stern, and Jay quickly relaxed, “Alright, then I’m down.”

“So Badger and I get a break, and you two go hunt down some answers?” Dylan reiterated, and Jay nodded, “That looks like the case, Lion.”

“Are we off, then?” Juniper asked, and the four stood from their chairs, “I’m ready,” Jay answered, patting the pocket near his chest his wand was stashed in.

“Good luck, guys!” Skylar smiled, following Dylan over to the red door of the Archive, who waved to Jay and Juniper as they crouched near the blue door, “See you guys when you get back here.”

“Be safe, people,” Jay waved back, following Juniper through the blue door, to an empty version of Jacob’s hideout. 

“Lead the way, Raven,” Jay raised a hand to the door of Jacob’s room, “Let’s see if we can’t throw the Headmaster for a loop.”

* * *

Back through the green door, two Slytherin students sat opposite each other, offering a greeting to their occasional concerned visitor, or a sideways glance over to the blank wall.

“I’m worried, how much longer do you think he’s gonna be in there?” Rowan asked the ruby-eyed girl across from him, who scoffed, “Who cares? Nothing through that door could kill him…”.

“...As much as I wish something could,” Merula quickly tacked on, “I don’t even know why I’m waiting here.”

“Do you believe his story? The whole parallel universe thing?” Rowan put a hand up to his chin as he asked Merula.

“I can’t think of anything better, but there better not be another Merula out there…” Merula muttered, and Rowan adjusted his glasses, smirking at Merula, “Are you jealous of _yourself,_ Snyde?”.

“Of course not, Khanna!” Merula quickly shot back, “I’ve just spent too long wearing Rosewood down for him to get beat by some other Merula."

“He’s not gonna lose to some other Merula,” Rowan assured, “He fancies you way too much to even _interact_ with another Merula.”

“I suppose…” Merula muttered, giving another look to the wall Jay had disappeared through. 

“Tell you what,” Rowan offered, “If he gets back late, you can use his lap. I can see why you like it.”

“Shut up, Khanna,” At the end of Merula’s retort, Rowan could swear he heard, “...Thanks,” come out from just under Merula’s breath.

“Jay’s tough, if the people he’s working with are him, then they’re gonna be tough too.”

-End Chapter 7-


	8. -Looking For Leads-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Badger is treated to a seat watching a friendly Gryffindor Quidditch match, courtesy of the Lion. Meanwhile, the Snake returns to the world of the Raven, and the two start to hunt for answers to their unique situation.

Jacob’s room seemed to be a common thread in any universe, as the note-strewn room through Dylan’s door was identical to the one from Skylar’s world, down to the permanent layer of dust over every possible surface. 

“Let’s get headed down to the pitch, Badger,” Dylan grinned, “It’s not a real game, but Gryffindor friendlies can get pretty intense.”

“Sounds like fun!” Skylar followed Dylan out of the room, down through the castle, eventually reaching the path down to the Quidditch Pitch, and Skylar immediately took note of the powdery snow all over the ground, coming up to Skylar's ankle, with more still drifting down from the sky.

“Uh, is this really Quidditch weather?” Skylar questioned, and Dylan laughed, “Maybe not for the other houses, but for us? A little snow just means we get less sweaty than usual!”.

Before Dylan and Skylar could even see the pitch through the falling snow, though, a girl with blue-tipped brown hair, about Skylar’s height, putting her at roughly Dylan’s shoulder, walked up next to Dylan and started walking alongside them, carrying a fancy-looking broom.

“Hey, Skye!” Dylan joyfully greeted as he recognized the girl, pulling her into a hug, and the girl smiled, reaching up to Dylan’s cheek and pulling his head down to kiss him, causing Skylar to aim her gaze firmly at the snow away from them.

“Hey, big guy,” Skye smiled, looking over to Skye, “Who’s your new friend?”. Dylan scratched the back of his head, “It’s, uh… It’s a long story. I’ll tell you after practice, alright?”.

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Firehawk…” Skye warned, prompting a laugh from Dylan, “I’ll be ready.”. Skye walked with Dylan and Skylar the rest of the way to the pitch, and when it came time for Dylan and Skye to split off into the locker tent, Dylan winked at Skylar, “See you out there, Badger.”

“Thanks again, Lion,” Skylar smiled, walking up into the stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch. When she found a seat, Skylar spotted Madam Hooch walking out onto the grass, flanked by fourteen crimson-clad players, who all took to their brooms as Madam Hooch reached down to a massive trunk set in the center of the snowy pitch. A young man’s voice sounded from the commentator’s box, and the other, much more snow-equipped spectators around Skylar cheered as the trunk’s top flew open, and the game began.

* * *

“So run me through the plan one more time, just so we’re certain,” Jay requested as he and Juniper strode through the halls of Juniper’s Hogwarts.

“We’re going to go talk to Flitwick, and see if he can help us get an audience with Dumbledore,” Juniper answered, waving to a group of second-years that had stopped to look at the pair. 

“From there, we explain what happened to Dumbledore, and see if he knows anything about what caused the doors to appear.”

“If anyone knows something, it’s him,” Jay noted, “I just hope we can get a straight answer out of him…”. When they reached the Charms classroom, Jay was relieved to see that the diminutive Professor Flitwick that greeted them was almost identical to the kindly Charms professor Jay knew. 

“Hello, Ms. Arbre!” Flitwick smiled as the two entered the classroom, “To what I owe this visit?”.

“That’d be me,” Jay raised a hand, “We need to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor.”

“My apologies,” Professor Flitwick adjusted his glasses, looking up at Jay, “I don’t believe I’ve seen you in my class before, could you remind me your name?”.

“Jay Rosewood, Professor,” Jay put a hand up assuringly at Flitwick’s confused expression, “Don’t expect it to ring a bell, I don’t exist anyway.”

“Well now,” Flitwick frowned, “That’s no way to talk about oneself, Mr. Rosewood!”.

“It’s not self-deprecation, Professor,” Juniper corrected, “Jay _doesn’t_ actually exist, not here, at least…”. Flitwick looked over to Juniper, then to Jay, and back again before finally sighing, “I’m afraid you’ve lost me, Ms. Arbre.”

* * *

Another gust of icy air swept through the stadium, hard enough to convince Skylar her freezing ears were going to shatter.

“Does my world’s Gryffindor take Quidditch _this_ seriously?” Skylar wondered to herself through her chattering teeth, talking out her wand and muttering, _“Engorgio,”_ as she tapped her robes. Her snow-specked school robes grew, and Skylar quickly wrapped herself in the extra fabric as the snowy winds cut across her ears and nose. While Skylar was busy trying to discern which of the two different kinds of crimson and gold robes she should be cheering for, the voice of the boy in the commentator’s box boomed through the stadium again.

“Looks like Lavorre’s in trouble! A Bludger on his tail and Parkin fixing to swipe the Quaffle, can the Firehawk get out of this one?”. Skylar’s eyes darted up to see what the boy was talking about, and she saw Dylan flying high up above the stands, a small brown ball hurtling after him, and the girl from before chasing behind. 

Suddenly, Dylan shot up, climbing almost completely vertically into the air. Skylar didn’t recognize the maneuver, but the commentator’s voice sounded again, filled with what sounded like equal parts dread and anticipation. 

“Eyes up, ladies and gentlemen! Lavorre appears to be setting up the Phoenix Down! Someone get Madam Pomfrey on standby!” The commentator described, and Skylar attempted to peruse her limited Quidditch knowledge for what he was talking about.

Before Skylar could identify the maneuver the commentator was talking about, she saw Dylan pause in the air, flipping upside down, one arm around the dark red Quaffle, and the other hanging onto his broom.

Without warning, Dylan’s legs unhooked from around his broom, and, with only one arm clinging to his broom, he began to plummet to the ground in a less of a dive, as a dismounted freefall towards the ground of the pitch. Dylan shot down past both the Bludger and the other Chaser, hurtling through the sky like a red and gold bullet.

As he was falling, Skylar watched as Dylan tucked himself into a flip, positioning his legs below him again, and swiping his broom back in between his legs.

The crowd scattered about the stadium exploded as Dylan shot across the pitch, darting up and hurling the Quaffle through the center goalpost, and the commentator’s voice rang through the stadium again.

“Unbelievable, Ladies and Gentlemen! I could see that maneuver a hundred times and it would never amaze any less!” The crowd cheered again, and Skylar noticed another player in the robes of Dylan’s team drop down to the center of the stadium, a small gold glint in their hand.

The commentator’s voice rang through the stadium again, “And Weasley’s got the Snitch! 300 to 360, Lavorre’s team takes it home!”.

The students in the stands cheered as they stood up one by one and filed out of the stadium and the players landed in the center of the pitch. Walking down out of the stands, Skylar spotted Dylan walking out of the stadium, his broom resting over his shoulders, a massive smirk across his face.

“Not a bad show, eh, Badger?” Dylan chuckled, and Skylar laughed, “So that drop was on purpose? To show off?”.

“Not… entirely to show off, but can you blame me for wanting to show off to a friend?” Dylan asked, before putting a hand up to his chin, “Actually, are we friends? We’ve only really known each other a few days…”.

“I mean, I’m _you,_ it’d be sorta weird if we weren’t friends, right?” Skylar reasoned before a shout caused both students to jump, “DYLAN LAVORRE!”.

“This is the biggest risk of doing that move…” Dylan sighed, “If the fall doesn’t kill me…” Dylan turned and Skylar saw the girl from earlier, Skye, marching up to them, fury in her eyes, “...Skye will.”

* * *

The lift up to the Headmaster’s office always made Jay a little nervous, the few times he had been up it, there was usually a stern lecture or two waiting for him on the other side. This time, riding up the lift with Juniper, Jay caught himself tossing his wand in between his hands, almost like his body had interpreted his nerves as a fight coming.

“Should I use my real name?” Jay asked, and Juniper cocked her head, “I don’t see why you wouldn’t…”.

“It could be weird to introduce myself as a student Dumbledore’s never heard of, Raven,” Jay figured, tucking his wand back into his robe.

“Introducing yourself as Snake would probably be weirder,” Juniper returned, “Plus, it might make you sound a bit loony.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Raven,” Jay leaned in a little as the lift reached the top, _“This whole situation is a bit loony.”_.

The door to the lift opened, and the massive, circular Headmaster’s office came into view. Dusty bookshelves lined the walls, surrounding tables covered in strange devices and objects that Jay gave up trying to understand a long time ago.

“Headmaster Dumbledore?” Juniper walked into the center of the room, catching the attention of the wizened old wizard sat at the cluttered desk opposite Jay and Juniper, “I need to speak with you about something, it’s very important.”

“If it’s got you rushing to me, Ms. Arbre…” Dumbledore stood from the desk, “Then it must be something that’s got you completely stumped.”

“That is correct, Headmaster, in fact, the only proof I’ve got that it wasn’t some bizarre dream is…” Juniper stepped to the side, gesturing to Jay, who gave a friendly wave, “Hi, I’m the evidence!”.

“Hello,” Dumbledore returned Jay’s wave, “I assume you are a friend of Ms. Arbre’s?”.

“Close enough,” Jay shrugged, “I’m Jay Rosewood, Sixth-Year at Hogwarts.”

“Rosewood?” Dumbledore mused, “It may just be an old man’s brain, but I don’t recall there being a student here by that name…”.

“Well, though I am enrolled at Hogwarts under Headmaster Dumbledore…” Jay elaborated, “It’s not _this_ Hogwarts or _you_ Headmaster Dumbledore.”. Dumbledore gave a light chuckle, walking around his desk and towards the two students, “It would appear you two have quite a story for me.”

“You have no idea, Headmaster,” Juniper shook her head, “I know for a fact that even with three extra heads to put on this, it’s still a barely-started puzzle to us.”

“Well,” Dumbledore clasped his hands together, nodding to Juniper and Jay, “Puzzle away, Ms. Arbre.”

-End Chapter 8-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy this one, between my other ongoing stuff and school, my writing hand is starting to get cramped. I know that I've said a hundred times now on a thousand different things that I might slow down, but for real, I may need to give myself a break if I want to keep up the quality you guys are used to, for better or worse. Thanks as always for coming by to read, I wouldn't have stuck around this long without your support!


	9. -One Step Forward-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juniper and Jay piece together their first lead in what caused their discovery of the Archive, and, with Skylar's help, Dylan attempts to explain a few things, hopefully without getting strangled in the process.

“Well…” Dumbledore tilted his head as Jay and Juniper finished their explanation, stroking his long silver beard, “That is certainly quite the story…”.

“You’re telling us,” Jay muttered, and Juniper sighed, “So, given how we haven’t been able to discern much about all of this, we were hoping you could provide some insight into the situation.”

“Nobody knows this castle like you do, Headmaster,” Juniper’s reasoning gave Dumbledore a small chuckle, “You’ll find, Ms. Arbre, that there are things about this castle even _I_ have yet to understand.”

“That’s what we were afraid of…” Juniper sighed, “Any advice you can give us that might be able to help us find a lead?”.

“You’re quite a clever witch, Ms. Arbre…” Dumbledore answered, “If Mr. Rosewood is similar to you in deductive ability, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure this out.”

“Perhaps your first clue has already presented itself…”.

* * *

“You have six seconds, Dylan...” Skye pulled down on Dylan’s collar, bringing his head down to meet her glare, causing Skylar to jump back slightly, “...To explain why you used the _one move_ we agreed you wouldn’t try again, least of all _USE IN AN ACTUAL MATCH?”_.

“Well...” Dylan nervously stammered as Skylar took a few cautionary steps back, “...Isn’t Quidditch all about thinking on your feet? I was just taking the most effective course of action!”.

“Oh, yes, very effective…” Skye sarcastically echoed, “Maybe if your plan is to never see the outside of the Hospital Wing again!”.

“Oh, uh… what’s that?” Dylan put a hand up to his ear, pretending to hear something, “I- I think Orion’s calling for me, I shouldn’t keep him waiting, Skye…”.

Dylan pulled himself out of Skye’s grip, quickly walking away to the tent near the entrance of the stadium.

“Dylan Lavorre you get back-” Skye yelled, before cutting herself off with a sigh, “Dammit.” Skye looked over and saw Skylar awkwardly watching from a short distance, and quickly assumed a friendly smile, waving to Skylar.

“Hey, you’re the girl from earlier!” Skye walked over, extending a hand to Skylar, who nervously shook it.

“Hey, don’t worry, I don’t bite,” Skye assured, “I’m not normally that angry, I swear. Dylan’s just particularly good at getting me worried.” Skylar tilted her head, “Does he do stuff like that a lot? The dangerous maneuvers like that one he did today.”

“No matter how many heart attacks it gives me…” Skye muttered, before her expression brightened, “But hey, it’s not like I can really throw stones, I suppose.” Skye crossed her arms over her chest, seemingly looking a little harder at Skylar, “Actually, I don’t think I’ve seen you around. Are you a new recruit to Dylan’s merry band?”.

“Well…” Skylar considered the answer, figuring that the honest answer might sound crazy, she attempted to lie, “I’m… his cousin. From America.”

“From America,” Skye repeated, deadpan, “I didn’t realize Dylan had family in town.”. Skylar nodded, her eyes darting around her field of vision, never once even attempting to lock eyes with Skye. 

“Your accent is very subtle,” Skye commented, “In fact, you sound almost nothing like an American, to begin with.”

“Well, uh…” Skylar put a hand up behind her neck, desperately trying to keep up with this lie, before eventually sighing, “...I’m not Dylan’s cousin.”

“Obviously,” Skye said, “Now, who are you? I’ve never seen you before, and I get a sneaking feeling that nobody else here has, either.”

“Why do you get a feeling like that?” Skylar asked, and Skye took a step forward, and, despite Skylar still being a few inches taller, she instinctively leaned back, tempted to reach for her wand.

“When you spend as much time as I have dodging Bludgers…” Skye answered, “You get a good sense of when trouble’s coming.”

“Hey, calm down, I’m no threat,” Skylar tried to assure, “I lied because if I told you the real answer, you wouldn’t believe me!”.

“Try me,” Skye raised an eyebrow, “Dylan’s gotten up to some wild stuff, there’s no way-”.

“I’m Dylan,” Skylar blurted, “Kind of, I’m also me, but also another world’s equivalent of Dylan, I guess?”. Skye blinked, her mouth silently closing in the middle of her sentence. From behind her, Skylar saw Dylan walking up from behind them, changed out of his Quidditch robes, into a simple set of jeans and a dark red sweater.

“Hey, did I miss anything?” Dylan asked as he stopped next to Skye, who glanced up at him, then back at Skylar.

“I don’t see the resemblance.”

* * *

“Welp, that was completely unhelpful,” Jay groaned as the lift descended away from the Headmaster’s Office, “A bunch of metaphors and nonsense, just like my Dumbledore.”

“Perhaps it will make more sense if we have time to think about it…” Juniper mused, “We _have_ only been at this for about a day and a half…”.

“A day and a half of nothin’ but questions!” Jay lamented, “At this rate, we’re gonna end up with more questions than there are books in the Archive!”.

“It would be so bad if we had _anything_ to go off of…” Jay pinched the bridge of his nose, “But I get a feeling that no matter who we ask, we’re just gonna end up where we started.”

“Well, perhaps your world may have someone more suited to answering our questions…” Juniper offered. Jay crossed his arms in front of him as the lift landed, the doors sliding open, “Y’know, that does remind me of somethin’ I need to ask ya…”.

“Why’d you need me to test traveling between worlds yesterday? You were the one who led me to my door in the first place.”

Juniper raised an eyebrow, “I’ve never visited your world, Snake, what are you talking about?”.

Jay paused for a moment, stopping dead in the corridor, putting a fist up to his chin, “Then, if it wasn’t you, who was…”. Suddenly, Jay snapped his fingers, “We may have a lead, after all, Raven.”

“It’s not much, but it’s more than we had,” Jay quickly set off towards Jacob’s hideout, with Juniper following behind.

Stepping through the door back into the Archive, Jay began to pace in the center of the room, and Juniper asked, “Well, what lead is it? Someone led you to your door?”.

“Yeah, someone in a hood, I couldn’t see their face…” Jay nodded, “At first, I thought it was you, but then you said that thing about testing travel between worlds…”.

“An enigmatic figure in a hood,” Juniper sunk down into her chair, “If I had a Sickle every time one of those was behind something mysterious…”.

“I’d have two Sickles,” Jay continued, not looking up from his pacing, “Which isn’t a lot…”.

“...But it’s weird that it’s happened twice,” Juniper finished, and Jay paused, looking at her, both saying, “How did you-”.

“You knew what I was going to say,” Juniper stated, and Jay put a hand up to his chin, “Huh, well, if we needed any more proof we were the same person…”.

“We should tell Badger and Lion about the hooded figure when they get back and tell them to keep their eyes open,” Juniper suggested, and Jay stopped his pacing to look over to his door.

“Can you do that? I can’t come back as late as I did last time or my Rowan and Merula will murder me,” Jay asked, and Juniper nodded, “Of course, should we four meet back here tomorrow?”.

“Merlin willing,” Jay chuckled, “I’ll see you guys then.”

“Goodnight, Snake,” Juniper waved, and Jay returned the gesture as he walked up to the green door, “G’night, Raven.”

* * *

“Yeah, you were right,” Skye sighed, “It would have been easier to believe you were his cousin.”

“I know, but I swear…” Dylan said as he, Skye, and Skylar walked back towards Jacob’s hideout, “...She’s some kinda alternate-universe me, even though I’m still kinda unclear on what that means…”.

“I’m gonna duck back to the Archive and see if I can check in on Raven and Snake,” Skylar pointed down the corridor towards Jacob’s hideout, and Dylan nodded, “Alright, Badger, can you let them know not to wait up for me? I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”.

“No problem, Lion,” Skylar smiled as Dylan walked up past the corridor with Skye, and she walked through the corridor, slipping into Jacob’s room, and through the red door inside. 

Inside the Archive, Skylar saw Juniper waiting for her, half-asleep in her chair, and Skylar noticed that Jay was absent.

“Where’s Snake?” Skylar asked, and Juniper jolted awake, “Hm? Oh, Badger, hello. Snake had to return to his world, unfortunately.”

“Lion’s out tonight too, did you guys find anything in your world?” Skylar asked, and Juniper adjusted the glasses perched on her nose, “Yes and No, Badger. Dumbledore was little help, but we do have our first lead.”

Juniper explained the hooded figure Jay had seen, and Skylar leaned back in her chair, “So, a vague lead, to one of the many questions we have, and we don’t know how to even start following it?”.

“Precisely,” Juniper confirmed, and Skylar smiled, shrugging, “I’ve worked with less. I’ll keep an eye out, Raven.”

“Actually,” Skylar realized, “I’ve got a little party happening tomorrow night in my world, do you want to come by and hang out? It could give you some insight into the differences between our worlds!”.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude…” Juniper waved a hand apologetically, and Skylar laughed, “Heck no, they already invited me, and you’re me, so it’d be weird of you _not_ to show up!”.

“Well, with such interesting logic applied…” Juniper looked up at the dark roof of the Archive, subtly shifting the stars to form different constellations, before looking back down to Skylar, “Very well, I’ll be ready, will we be seeing you during the day tomorrow?”.

“I’m not sure,” Skylar stood up from her chair, yawning, “I need to get some homework done tomorrow before the party, so I wouldn’t wait for me.”

“Very well, I will see you tomorrow night,” Juniper nodded as Skylar walked to her door, smiling again at Juniper, “Goodnight, Raven!”.

“Good night, Badger,” Juniper watched Skylar walk through the yellow door, and sat for a moment, before taking a yawn of her own as she stood up.

* * *

Juniper looked around the Archive, thinking about whether she should take this chance to read up further on her counterparts, but the weight of tiredness on the back of her mind caused her to decide against it, instead turning and walking back through the blue door behind her. 

Walking out of Jacob’s room, Juniper realized how late it had gotten, silently cursing how long it had taken for her to explain things to both Flitwick and Dumbledore that day. Thinking about all the stairs climbing up to the Ravenclaw common room with the rapidly-settling exhaustion dragging her down made Juniper want to leap off the tallest tower, but she dragged herself towards the winding staircases anyway.

“There you are, Arbre,” A cold voice came from behind Juniper, and she turned to see Merula walking up behind her, and Juniper smiled.

“Excellent timing as always, Merula…” Juniper shook her head to wake herself up, and Merula walked over, putting a hand up against Juniper’s forehead and looking into her eyes.

“Merlin’s Mother, Arbre, you look like you’re about to drop on the spot.”

Merula hooked one of her arms under Juniper’s shoulder, lifting Juniper’s other arm over her shoulders, “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

“A knight in shining armor, come to save me in my hour of need,” Juniper giggled through her exhaustion-clouded mind, and Merula rolled her eyes as the two set off towards the Ravenclaw common room, “Shut up, Arbre.”

Juniper didn’t remember falling asleep, but she was suddenly now being fully carried by Merula, standing in front of the door with the bronze, bird-shaped door knocker.

 _"Imagine you are in a dark room, how do you get out?”_ the door knocker asked, and Juniper sleepily answered, “Stop imagining.”. There was a faint clicking of metal as the door unlocked, and Merula nudged it open with her foot.

“This is your stop, Arbre,” Merula said, despite making no effort to drop Juniper, “Time to hop off.”

“No…” Juniper sleepily protested, purposefully exaggerating the length of the word, and wrapping her arms around Merula’s neck.

“Do you know how much trouble I’d be in if I got caught?” Merula asked, and Juniper looked up at her, reaching down with one hand to fix her glasses, “Then you won’t get caught.”

“...You’re a riot, Arbre,” Merula huffed, walking through the door, quietly navigating through the common room to the dormitories.

Eventually, Juniper felt herself get lowered down into a bed, and heard Merula sigh from above her, “Never say I never did anything for you, Arbre…”.

Juniper shot up in bed, putting her hands up to either side of Merula’s face, and pulled the sneering Slytherin girl above her into a kiss as she laid back down, taking Merula with her.

“Thank you, Merula,” Juniper pressed her forehead against Merula’s as she pulled away, “I wouldn’t have made it up here without you.”. The compliment made Merula blush, looking down at the floor of the dormitory, “Real nice of you, making me walk all the way down to the dungeons from here…”.

“Well, since you’ve done me such a service,” Juniper shifted over in her bed, leaving room for another occupant, “Perhaps I can return the favor.”

“You’re sure Khanna won’t rat me out?” Merula jabbed a thumb over to the girl sleeping in the bed across from Juniper’s, and Juniper shook her head, “Not a word, I promise.”

Merula sat down on the edge of Juniper’s bed before grinning, “Fine, I guess it’s better than the walk back to my dormitory…”. Merula rolled onto her side, pulling the blanket draped over the bed up over her. 

“Good night, Blackbird,” Juniper whispered from behind Merula, and she smiled, “Goodnight, Juniper.”

* * *

Elsewhere, a figure steps into the Archive. Looking around, they wonder if the four they’ve found are correct, and if they will really be able to succeed where they have failed. Pulling their hood back over their head, they vanish, leaving the Archive empty again.

-End Chapter 9-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Okay, I might have lied about taking a break. Or maybe my brain just hasn't registered how exhausted I am. Either way, as always, thanks for coming by to read!)


	10. -A Long Night Ahead-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dylan and Jay meet in the Archive to start their hunt for their hooded target, but are quickly interrupted by Juniper approaching them with a concern regarding Skylar’s world. Skylar herself, meanwhile, is busy preparing her world and her friends for a very special guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I fixed the error of most of the chapter being in italics, sorry about that!  
> Edit2: Jay's lyrics are now the official translation of the song, not just the direct translation that doesn't work anyway.

Dylan didn’t consider himself a lazy person, going out of his way to show up for Quidditch practices first every time, even making his own solo practices when he felt like he was falling behind. Yet, as sunlight glittered in through the window of his and Rowan’s dormitory, he couldn’t seem to summon the energy to lift the blanket off himself. 

“Up and at ‘em, Superstar,” Rowan’s sleepy voice yawned from across the dormitory, “We’ve got a day to do”.

“Bleh… fine,” Dylan dragged the warm blanket off himself, shivering as the cold air of the dormitory bit at his exposed torso.

“I’m gonna pop down to the Library,” Rowan informed, “See if I can find anything on parallel universes”.

“So you believe me? About the Archive?” Dylan asked, standing up and walking over to his dresser, and he heard Rowan laugh, “At first, I thought it was mad, I’ll be honest”.

“But you realized you should always trust your best friend?” Dylan joked, pulling a simple white t-shirt over his head, followed by a red and gold cardigan.

“Merlin, no,” Rowan laughed, “I just realized that if you were lying, you’d come up with something that didn’t challenge our perception of reality, so you had to be telling the truth”.

“Have I done that? Broken your perception of reality?” Dylan asked, sitting down on the edge of his bed as Rowan set his glasses on his face, shrugging, “I’ve been trying not to think about it too hard in that regard”. Dylan nodded, pointing at Rowan, “Smart, mystery first, existential crisis later”.

Rowan stretched his arms up over his head, “So, are you going to see them again? Yourselves?”. Dylan nodded, standing up from his bed, “Yeah, the Slytherin me and the Ravenclaw me did some sleuthing yesterday, I’m gonna ask them what they found.”.

“I’d be careful, Dylan,” Rowan warned, “Even if they are you, they’re a Slytherin too”. Dylan nodded, standing up and walking over the dormitory door, where Rowan joined him, “I’ll keep my eye on him, Rowan. Let me know if you find anything in the Library”.

“As long as you keep me updated on what you figure out, too,” Rowan agreed as the two walked out into the Gryffindor Dormitory. Dylan yawned again, reaching his arms out to his sides, “Deal, see you when we’re back”.

* * *

Jay seemed to realize more and more every day how much he preferred most people when they were sleeping. Looking around the Slytherin common room at his sleeping classmates, he smiled, thinking about how peaceful they all looked. Of course, the girl lying across the couch Jay was sitting in, her head nestled in his lap was the obvious example, and looking down at Merula, quietly snoring in his lap, Jay was reminded for what must be the hundreth time that he was hopelessly in love with her. 

Across from him, the large form of Barnaby Lee shifted as his eyes slowly opened, and Jay smirked as he looked around, whispering, “Mornin’, Druid. You’ve got a little something,” Jay pointed down to Barnaby’s lap, making sure not to disturb the sleeping Rowan on his shoulder.

Barnaby looked down at the mess of long black hair on his lap, sucking in a sharp breath as he recognized Ismelda, quietly snoring away. 

“What do I do?” Barnaby worriedly whispered, “Do I wake her up?”. Jay grinned, “Well, it depends on how you feel about her, Druid, you get me?”. Barnaby looked down at Ismelda, and back up at Jay and Rowan, saying, “She’d kill me if she found out you guys knew…” and reaching down gingerly with one of his hands, running it through Ismelda’s long dark hair. The pale girl in his lap made a noise similar to a purring cat, and Jay nudged the shoulder Rowan was resting on to wake him up.

“Eh, what’s going…” Rowan grumbled as he woke up, but fell silent as he saw Barnaby and Ismelda, snickering, “Oh, you’re so _dead_ , mate”.

“What?” Barnaby whispered, frightened, and Jay put a hand over Rowan’s face, shaking his head, “You’ll live, it’s like having a cat fall asleep on you, you’ve had animals sleep on you, right?”.

“I guess it is kinda like that…” Barnaby looked down, shifting some of the hair out of Ismelda’s face, smiling, “Heh, she’s always so cute like this…”. Rowan got up from the couch, looking down at Jay, “Thanks for getting back in one piece. Third time’s the charm on actually getting to our dormitories”.

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Farmhand,” Jay joked as Rowan walked back to the room, and Barnaby slowly slid his hands under Ismelda’s head and neck, just barely lifting her off his legs. Slowly, Barnaby shifted a pillow from the couch under Ismelda’s head.

“Could, erm, could you not tell anyone about this?” Barnaby asked, “She’s gone to so much trouble to hide us…”. Jay nodded, “Hey, you’re not the only one trying to hide a relationship here. Don’t worry, Rowan and I won’t say a word”. Barnaby slowly and carefully walked back to the dormitories after Rowan, and Jay looked around at the empty common room.

Jay looked down at Merula, leaning down and speaking in a low, rhythmic whisper, _“I'm such a mess, I'm lost,”_. Merula shifted slightly, and Jay reached over, pulling Merula up along himself, eventually pulling the sleeping girl into his arms, and standing up, still whispering, _“I'm no good at this, I'm in love, still in love...”._

Jay carried the girl in his arms over to his and Rowan’s dormitory, _“Still in love with you, hard as I try…”_ Rowan quietly waved to Jay as he walked over to his bed, _“I can't drink this pain away…”_. 

_"Memories of you..."_ he set Merula down in his bed, pulling the blanket up just past her neck, brushing the hair out of her face, _"Twisting up my view..."._

_“...I’ve been a fool,”_ Merula mumbled the last few words as Jay sang them, smiling as Merula subconsciously shifted herself in the bed. 

“Headed out?” Rowan whispered, and Jay nodded, “I’ll let you know if I find something". 

“Good luck, Scruffy”. 

* * *

Inside the Archive, Dylan had just sat down in his chair when Jay stepped through his door, immediately reaching up and closing his hand around the handle of a white mug, taking a sip as he approached the center of the room. 

“Didn’t sleep?” Dylan asked, and Jay shook his head as he sat down, “I just about made it to my common room before I dropped. I’ll wake up as the day goes…”. Dylan straightened his back, trying to size up the sleepy Slytherin sitting to his left. Dylan had a few inches of height above Jay, but that didn’t come as a shock, Dylan’s 193cm frame towered over basically everyone he knew, and the borderline-scrawny-looking Jay was no contest. Dylan saw the small lump on the left breast of Jay’s black bomber jacket that was most likely his wand, but it looked like another on his other side, a black handle hanging in a sewn-in pocket against his dark green t-shirt... 

“You’re not very subtle, Lion”. 

Jay’s tired voice forced Dylan’s eyes to shoot away, and Jay grinned, “Don’t worry, I don’t mind. Once most people see the green on my robes they’re already reaching for their wand, so I don’t mind a little suspicion”. 

“I wasn’t suspicious…” Dylan defended, trying to find another word that meant, _“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t a threat”_ , and ultimately failing. 

“Welp,” Jay leaned forward, setting the mug in his hand on a large, circular oak table in the center of the room, causing Dylan to flinch as the table appeared, “I should probably fill you in on what Raven and I found”. 

“Dumbledore helped you guys out?” Dylan asked, and Jay laughed, “Sort of, he didn’t give us any actual leads, but his crazy-ass dementia wisdom helped us figure out where to look first”. 

“Where’s that?” Dylan asked, leaning forward in his chair, excited to finally have somewhere to start getting some answers. 

“My world. There was a guy in a hood keepin’ an eye on me who disappeared not long before I found the Archive”. 

Dylan stood up, looking over at the green door, “So, let’s get going, what are we waiting for?”. 

“I want to make sure the others don’t want in, Lion,” Jay put a hand up, “The last thing we need is getting into a fight without as much backup as we can manage”. From across the room, the blue door creaked open, and Juniper’s familiar voice spoke from behind Dylan, “Have I missed something?”. 

Dylan turned, waving at the nervous-looking Ravenclaw who sat down facing the two of them, “Nah, Snake was just filling me in on what I missed yesterday”. 

“Excellent, so you’re going to join him in investigating his world?” Juniper asked, and Jay threw up one of his eyebrows, “Are you not?”. 

“Not this time, Snake,” Juniper answered, “Badger is expecting me in her world later tonight, and I’d like to be prepared”. 

“Are you expecting to get your picture taken?” Jay gestured to the dark navy-blue suit Juniper was wearing, and Dylan smiled, saying, “You look good, Raven. What’s Badger want with you?”. Juniper adjusted her glasses, sitting down in the center of the room with Dylan and Jay. 

“Badger’s version of our friends have arranged a party of sorts, and I’ve been extended an invitation as an opportunity to observe her world more closely”. Jay jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to his door, “I’m going to go hunting in my world for that hooded guy from before, I assume Badger’s out?”. Juniper nodded, “She told me she will be busy with homework up until she comes by to introduce me, so I think today’s venture falls down to you and Lion”. 

“Aces,” Dylan stood up from his chair, “We’ll fill you in on anything we find in Snake’s world”. 

“Actually,” Juniper began as Jay stood up, “How experienced are you two in the… social scene?”. Jay and Dylan looked at each other, and Jay shrugged, “I mostly just stick with my people, you?”. Dylan crossed his arms, looking up at the roof of the Archive, “I’ve been to the celebrations when we win a match, what’s up, Raven?”. Juniper adjusted her glasses again, “I would like to be able to observe Badger’s world from as natural a position as possible, and my experience with parties has been… _limited_ , to put it lightly”. 

Jay nodded, clapping his hands together as a chalkboard materialized behind him and his chair vanished, a long pointing stick springing from his hands as he opened them. 

“I don’t know much about being social, but I’m well versed in making myself seem like I belong in places, watch close, Raven,” Jay turned to the chalkboard as Dylan sat back down. 

* * *

“I don’t know, Sunshine…” Penny’s worried frown was an unfamiliar expression to Skylar, and it immediately made her want to latch onto her golden-haired friend and hug her until she felt better, but instead, Skylar put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, saying, “I know why you’re worried, but it’s me, right? How bad could it go?”. 

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Penny glanced over at where in Jacob’s room Skylar had said the door was, and Skylar could tell that Penny was having trouble processing what Skylar had told her, if Penny even believed her. 

“Hey, think about this…” Skylar put a hand on Penny’s cheek, and, trying to ignore her heart rate increasing, she smiled, “Even if they end up evil, we still outnumber them by a bunch”. Penny laughed, leaning in a little, her bright smile making Skylar’s heart melt in her chest as she said, “You always know what to say, Sunshine…”. 

Fighting her urge to drop dead on the spot, Skylar picked herself up off the stack of books she had been sitting on, awkwardly saying, “I- I need to finish picking up this place before the others get here…”. Penny stood up off the table she had been talking to Skylar from and flashed another seemingly innocuous smile that made Skylar want to kiss her a hundred times every time she saw it. 

“Ok! Mind if I-” Penny’s offer was cut off by the door to Jacob’s room swinging open, revealing a grinning Tonks, as well as the familiar lithe figure of Jae Kim, a small brown bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Hey, party people!” Tonks greeted, and Jae smirked, raising the satchel over his shoulder, “We came to stash the liquid courage. Are we interrupting?”. 

“Nope!” Penny brightly answered, and Skylar gave a wave, “You guys are just in time to help pick this place up before tonight, actually…”. Jae tossed the bag up on a stack of books near the corner of the room, cracking his knuckles, “Alright, let’s tuck this stuff into every corner we can find”. 

“So, Skylar,” Tonks asked as she picked a stack of papers off the ground, stacking it on a nearby desk, “What’s this I hear of you bringing another girl to this little get-together?”. Skylar immediately stopped dead, turning over to Tonks, asking, “How could you possibly have known that?”. Tonks shrugged, “You kept saying ‘Raven’ like it was a name while you were writing that paper for Sprout, so I assumed you were bringing another guest”. 

“Some lucky bird finally caught your eye, eh?” Jae smirked, “Funny, I always figured you had been crushing on- Ow!” Skylar jabbed an elbow into Jae’s side, putting her other hand up defensively, “Not like that, Jae… But yeah, Tonks is right, I am having someone else come by”. 

“You guys know how I was kinda hard to find yesterday?” Skylar asked, and Penny nodded, the worry starting to creep back into her face, “And the night before, yeah, it’s kept me up a little, are you okay?”. 

“I’m okay,” Skylar assured, taking a moment to recollect her thoughts as she processed what Penny said, “Yeah, I’m okay, it’s just that if I told you now, you might not have believed me, so I wanted to make sure I had solid proof”. 

“So this girl you’re bringing is why you’ve been so difficult to track down?” Tonks laughed, “I thought you said you _weren’t_ dating her, Skylar”. 

“Look, it’s a lot to explain, alright?” Skylar defended, “But I didn’t want you guys to worry, so I thought I’d try and get her help explaining all this to all of you at once”. 

“We’ll try to keep up,” Jae laughed, and the door to Jacob’s room opened again, welcoming in the familiar faces of Tulip, Barnaby, and Ben. 

“You’re early, couldn’t wait up?” Tonks joked as the three found places to rest in the newly-arranged room, and Tulip shrugged, “Not much else to do when most of your house is busy studying…”. 

“Skylar's got a special guest for us, rumor has it…” Tonks grinned, and Skylar attempted to roll her eyes dismissively, “For the last time, it’s not like that, Tonks…”. 

“So, what is it like?” Tulip asked, “Why bother with the risk of showing another person Jacob’s room?”. 

“Well,” Skylar rubbed the back of her neck, “They kinda already knew. They actually found it about the same time we did, is my best guess”. Tulip immediately leaped up, “What? How did they manage that?”. Skylar shook her head, “Look, this is going to take some explaining, so how about I just go get her?”. 

“Please,” Barnaby asked, “Anything’s better than a hundred questions with zero answers”. Skylar walked over to the door, turning to her friends as she reached down to the door, “Now, this might look weird, so…” 

“...Just don’t panic, okay?”. 

-End Chapter 10- 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Not much to say this time around, other than this is already doing better than I expected it to, so thanks as always for coming by to read! Note: On the off chance someone is curious, the song Jay sang is the English version of the chorus of the song Bakamitai [I've Been a Fool]. Nobody asked, but I wanted to put it here since the song has an official English translation now.)


	11. -The Hunt Is On-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juniper waits in the Archive for her Hufflepuff counterpart, and Jay and Dylan set off into Jay's world to find their enigmatic lead, unaware that there may be far more than they're prepared for waiting for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Jay no longer breaks codename secrecy once Dylan goes blind

“...But above all that,” Jay turned away from the several chalkboards behind him, covered with diagrams and acronyms, most of which looked more like the ramblings of a madman than any actual advice to Juniper and Dylan, “Is confidence”.

“If you can repeat to yourself, ‘I am supposed to be here’, and carry yourself like that, nine times out of ten, nobody will even question you.”.

Jay paused to take a breath, which, by Juniper’s count, was the first time in ten minutes, and Dylan quickly jumped up to pat Jay on the back, “Hey, great work, Snake, but we shouldn’t keep Raven any longer”.

“Really?” Jay asked, looking back at the mess of information behind him, “But I didn’t even get to-”.

“There’s no need,” Juniper assured, putting her hands up to stop Jay, “You’ve given me more than enough help already, you two should get going before it gets too late.”.

“Right you are, Raven!” Dylan agreed, and Jay shrugged, “Okay, you should probably be fine, I don’t see how badly one party could go…”.

“That just sounds like tempting fate,” Juniper commented, and Dylan turned to the green door, asking, “So, we’ll meet back here when?”.

“Tomorrow evening?” Juniper suggested, “We could all use some time in our own worlds, and I have classes again tomorrow.”. Jay gave a thumbs-up, “I think that goes for all of us. Good luck, Raven.”.

“We’ll see you then, Raven!” Dylan waved as he and Jay ducked through the green door into Jacob’s room.

“Alright,” Jay cracked his neck as Dylan looked around the dusty room, “Let’s get hunting, Lion.”. Jay and Dylan walked out into the corridor, and Dylan looked around, asking, “So… where do we start?”.

“That…” Jay frowned, putting a hand up to his chin, “That’s a good question. Let’s just start where I first spotted the guy.”.

Jay led Dylan through the bustling castle, filled with students going about their weekends, but the two paused at a corridor on the second floor, unnaturally silent for a Hogwarts corridor at midday. The corridor was completely empty, save for the two boys, and as they stepped forward, Dylan felt a chill run down his spine. 

“Now I’m glad you came...” Jay said, reaching for his wand, and Dylan shot Jay an inquisitive look, asking, “Why’s that, Snake?”. Jay gestured to Dylan’s athletic build, saying, “Look at you, you’re sixteen and you’re built like a friggin’ _house_. If a fight breaks out, I could use you as cover, for Merlin’s sake.”.

“So I’m the meatshield?” Dylan grumbled, and Jay shrugged, “If it comes to that. But hey, look at me,” Jay gestured down to his scrawny frame, “I’m sorta built to be bait”. As the two boys cautiously made their way down the corridor, a door creaked open down the hall, and Dylan felt a small throbbing pain over his right eye, reaching up to put his hand over it.

“Well, you don’t get a much more obvious invite than that…” Jay fully drew his wand, reaching over to the door, and as Dylan followed him closer to the door, the pain over his head got sharper, feeling more and more like someone was carving into his skull right over his eye.

“Dammit…” Dylan reached up over his eye with one hand, and as he pulled it away, he noticed a smear of blood on his palm, “Snake, are you feeling weird?”.

“No, are- Holy shit!” Jay waved his wand at Dylan’s bleeding head, _“Episkey!”_. The pain slowly started to subside, and Dylan reeled back, his eyes closing as he gritted his teeth, muttering, “What... the hell’s… happening?”. Jay put a hand up against Dylan’s forehead, moving the hair away from where the pain had been piercing him, his eyes still closed, Dylan asked, “What was that?”.

“I don’t know, but…” Jay ran his hand along Dylan’s forehead, “You’ve got a fancy new scar.”. Dylan stood up, putting his arm over Jay’s shoulder, “I just… gotta breathe for a second, let’s keep going.”.

“Easy, Lion,” Jay said, “This door, it’s to the Girl’s restroom, we can’t go in.”. Dylan sighed, “The Slytherin doesn’t want to break the rules?” Jay’s tone turned defensive as he answered, “Hey, my mom might have raised a liar and a rule-breaker, but she also raised a gentleman”. 

“Did she raise a quitter, too?” Dylan taunted, and he heard Jay give a low growl, almost like an angry dog, before muttering, “...no, no she didn’t”. Jay walked Dylan into the room, and as he regained his balance, Dylan looked around the room, quickly noticing he couldn’t make out a single detail of the room, his vision only displaying a foggy mess.

“Snake, are you seeing anything?” Dylan asked, trying to pick Jay out of the barely-comprehensible mess that was his vision. Jay, of course, saw none of this, only seeing Dylan release himself from Jay’s shoulder, and immediately begin to flail around like a blind man, answering, “Yeah, are you okay?”.

“No!” Dylan shot, “I can’t see my hand in front of my face, for fuck’s sake! What the hell is this room _doing_ to me?”. 

“Lion, sit down a sec, don’t hurt yourself,” Jay looked around the bathroom, trying to deduce why this room had jumped out to them, eventually turning his attention to the sinks near the center of the room. Looking around the light green stone of the sink fixture, Jay noticed one of the sinks was the wrong color. Upon closer inspection, the entire section of the fixture was more of a reddish-orange, abruptly cutting off and returning to the light green of the rest of the room. 

Jay walked closer to the sink, noticing that the tap wasn’t like a typical sink tap, instead there was a brass carving of a snake’s head hanging over the basin of the sink. Jay winced as he locked eyes with the carving, aiming his wand at it as he leaned in. Suddenly, a girl’s voice came from behind him, causing Jay to jolt, almost dropping his wand. 

“That tap’s never worked…” the girl’s voice said, and Jay turned around, giving a pained half-grin to the spectral girl floating behind him, “Hey, Myrtle…”.

“I’m glad you’re here, actually,” Jay greeted, and Moaning Myrtle gave Jay a curious look, “That’s not something I’ve ever heard…”.

“I was hoping I could ask you something,” Jay continued, pointing behind him to the discolored sink behind him, “This sink, has it always been off-color?”.

“Hmm…” Myrtle floated around the sink, seemingly inspecting the fixture in the center of the room. After a few moments, Myrtle floated back down to Jay, shaking her head sadly, “It doesn’t look off to me, it’s the same tap.”.

“So it’s always been a snake?” Jay turned back around to the fixture, rapping his knuckle against the stone wall, and smirking as the wall answered with a hollow knock. Jay turned back to Myrtle, asking, “You keep a better eye on this place than anyone in the school, Myrtle, have you seen anyone come in here that wasn’t supposed to?”. 

“There have been people all the time, people wanting to hide things…” Myrtle answered, “But they always leave once I show up…”. Jay put a hand up assuringly, “That’s just their mistake, Myrtle, does anyone stick out?”.

“No… Nobody since I died,” Myrtle floated down to eye level with Jay, who cocked his head, “Who was that?”.

“It was a boy,” Myrtle said, “I came in here to hide… and I heard his voice, but it wasn’t words, it was this weird sound... like he was hissing... I came out to tell him he wasn’t allowed, and then I died”.

“Do you remember what he was wearing? Maybe a hood or something?” Jay ventured, closing a fist over his mouth and looking down at the floor of the room.

“All I remember are the eyes…” Myrtle sighed, “There was a big… _thing_ , and it had these yellow eyes, and then I died”.

“Thank you, Myrtle,” Jay smiled, dropping his deductive stare for what he hoped came off as a genuine smile, “You’ve been a wonderful help”. Myrtle reached up to cover her face with her spectral hands, before quickly flying through the roof of the bathroom. 

“You still with me, Lion?” Jay asked his companion, who grumbled from a corner of the bathroom, “I’m still in the same room, if that’s what you mean. I’m still blind, though”.

“Come over here, I think I know where we need to go,” Jay aimed his wand up at the roof of the bathroom, _“Vermillious.”_. The nearly sightless Dylan could make out the shower of red sparks, standing up and stumbling his way over. 

“Something behind this sink, I think our guy is hiding behind it,” Jay said as Dylan eventually reached the sink fixture, asking, “How’d you get Myrtle to help you? All I’ve ever heard from her is assorted crying…”.

“It pays to talk to the people nobody talks to, Lion,” Jay advised, turning back to the sink, “This one, with the snake tap, I think this is the one that we need to get past”.

“Snake tap?” Dylan blindly pointed at the tap he thought was in front of him, and Jay noticed that Dylan’s height had decreased a little, his black hair growing more unkempt. 

“That’s the one. My money’s on you gotta be a Parselmouth to open it…”. Dylan looked at the smudge Jay had directed him towards, and a voice started to claw from the back of his throat, and Dylan leaned into the tap almost instinctually, saying in a hoarse voice, _“Open up.”._

Jay leaped back as a series of hissing noises came from Dylan’s mouth, and Jay quickly realized what he had heard, stepping back over to Dylan and asking, _“You’re a Parselmouth, Lion?”_

“No, I’m not...” Dylan answered, just as terrified as Jay was, and the tap of the sink receded into the wall, and the discolored section of the stone wall began to slide away, revealing a stony corridor behind the sink. 

“Well,” Jay said as he peered down the corridor, “At least we know why the tap’s broken…”. Jay flicked his wand again, muttering, _“Lumos,”_ and as the tip of his wand illuminated, he put one of Dylan’s arms around his shoulders and started to lead him into the passage. 

“May fortune favor the bold…” Dylan prayed as the darkness of the corridor surrounded them, leaving him completely blind, with only a single spot of light coming from Jay’s wand. 

The two boys trudged through the stone passage for a few minutes in complete silence, before Dylan gave a morose chuckle, “So much for your backup, eh?”. Jay smirked, responding, “If there’s something down here, I’ll just throw you at them.”. Dylan snickered, mimicking Jay’s voice saying, “‘Get help! My friend, he’s dying! Get help!’, Then you just hurl me at them.”. 

“Not a half-bad idea, Lion… If I could actually lift you,” Jay laughed, “Where’d a Gryffindor get a sneaky idea like that?”. Dylan smiled, “When you hang around people like Tulip and Tonks long enough, your brain just starts to do it.”. 

“Glad it’s not just me,” Jay joked, and while Dylan laughed, Jay rose to a stop at a massive door, covered in brass snakes like the one over the sink. Trying to ignore his heartbeat dramatically increasing, Jay looked up at the door and nudged Dylan, saying, “Time to work your magic again, Lion.”. 

“I told you, Snake, I’m not a bloody Par-” Dylan’s protest was cut off by another hoarse command to _“Open,”_ clawing its way out from the back of his throat, and Jay winced, remarking, “That’s never gonna get easier to listen to…”. 

The snakes across the door receded, and the door slowly swung open, and Jay and Dylan stepped through, searching their new surroundings. Snake saw they were in a massive, dimly-lit stone chamber, huge stone pillars with marble snakes entwined around them, and the entire chamber was filled with a greenish glow. 

“Oh, fuck this…” Jay muttered as he led Dylan further into the chamber, noticing a glint on the ground. Leaning down to investigate, Jay noticed the object was a pair of glasses, and when he turned over to look at his companion, he noticed that the glasses seemed to fit perfectly around the blinded Gryffindor’s face. When he put them on, Dylan blinked for a few moments, looking around the chamber, eventually muttering, “Oh, fuck _all_ of this…”. 

Jay and Dylan peered across the chamber, and Dylan spotted what appeared to be a massive snake coiled at the far end of the chamber, unmoving, seemingly not even breathing. 

“Hey, Jay, do you-” Dylan tried to ask something to his companion, but noticed that the Slytherin was walking away from the chamber, back towards the door they had entered from. 

“Whoa, wait up, Snake,” Dylan put a hand on Jay’s shoulder, asking him, “Dude, what’s up? We came all this way and you're just gonna bail?”. Jay whirled around, grabbing Dylan by his collar and yanking him down, “I hate snakes, Lion, I hate ‘em.”. Lion smiled, clapping Jay on the back and saying, “Come on, show a little backbone, willya?”. 

“You watch Muggle movies?” Jay asked, and Dylan shrugged, “Ben likes adventure flicks, and we’ve watched a few with him in the common room.”. 

“Seriously, though, I friggin’ _hate_ snakes,” Jay shivered, “And that thing, in case you missed it, _is a massive bloody snake_ ”. Dylan pointed back over to the massive coil of reptile at the end of the chamber, “But look, it’s not moving, it’s not even breathing.”. Jay took a deep breath, “Fine, let’s go…”. Dylan and Jay walked through the chamber, and when they reached the head of the massive snake, Dylan noticed that not only was the thing dead, its eyes were missing, almost as though they had been clawed out. 

“Definitely dead…” Dylan muttered, and Jay looked closer at the beast, and as he slowly began to identify the beast, he grew more and more nervous. Jay took a cautionary step back, tripping over a small book on the ground. 

“What the…” Jay picked up the book, and as he flipped through it, he saw that every page was blank, yet the pages were weathered, like the book was well-used. As he flipped through the pages, he noticed writing appearing on the pages, reading, “Hello.”. 

“Nope!” Jay slammed the book shut, and Dylan turned from inspecting the giant snake to ask, “What’s up?”. Jay held up the book, answering, “This book just started talking to me, Lion”. 

“Think we should burn it?” Dylan asked, “I can’t imagine making friends with a book would go super well, plus it could be cursed.”. Jay tucked his wand into his jacket, and reached over to the pocket opposite his wand, and drew a short silver dagger, with roses engraved around the hilt, looking down at the book in his other hand. 

“Where’d you get that?” Dylan inquired, and Jay shrugged, “This was the last Christmas gift my parents sent me, back in my first year. They’re alive, mind you, I just don’t hear from them very often.”. 

Jay opened up the book about halfway, and stabbed the knife through the spine, pulling it down through the book, eventually ripping it in half and dropping it. 

_“Incendio,”_ Dylan jabbed his wand at the two halves of the book on the ground, which burst into flame, but Dylan noticed it didn't seem to actually burn. Eventually, the flames died down, and he saw that the book’s spine had repaired itself, once again a whole book, sitting on the ground. 

“So we’re sure now that this thing is cursed, right?” Dylan asked, and Jay nodded, “Yeah, we need some heavier firepower to damage this thing…”. 

“Stand back, Snake,” Dylan whipped his wand around in front of him, aiming at the book and calling out, _“Confringo!”_. The Blasting Curse struck the book, and the entire chamber rumbled as a whisper filled the room. 

“Unworthy…” The whisper sent a chill down both Jay and Dylan’s spines, and Jay remembered what Myrtle had said, just yellow eyes, then she died. Jay whirled around to Dylan, “Lion, The thing down here, it’s a basilisk!”. Dylan turned over to the basilisk’s corpse behind him, saying, “Those are the ones with the super-acidic venom, right?”. 

Jay nodded as the chamber’s rumbling grew, “Among other things, yeah!” Dylan ran over to the basilisk’s mouth, yelling to Jay, “Hand me that knife! If anything’s gonna break that book, it’s a basilisk tooth!”. 

Jay ran over to Dylan’s side, placing the hilt of the dagger into his hand, and Dylan stabbed the dagger below one of the razor-sharp teeth, carving a bloody line below it. 

The tooth dropped to the ground, and Dylan snatched it up, handing the dagger back to Jay, and diving over to where the book was laying. The pages of the book were slowly starting to bind themselves again, and another whisper echoed through the rumbling chamber, “Only the heir…”. 

Dylan lunged down onto the book, stabbing the tooth into it, and the whisper turned into a hellish screech, and the chamber began to shake, and bits of debris began to rain down. 

“Lion, it’s time to go!” Jay yelled as the book began to spew an inky black liquid from the hole Dylan had pierced in it, and he quickly scrambled to his feet. 

“Come on, the door’s closing!” Jay shouted, pointing to the door into the chamber that was, indeed, slowly closing, and Dylan took off into a sprint towards the door, with Jay close behind. 

Rubble began to rain down from the roof of the chamber, and Dylan took his wand back out into his free hand, aiming it at the almost-shut door. 

_“Depulso!”_ A burst of blue light forced the door back open slightly, just enough for Dylan and Jay to dive through, before slamming shut behind them. 

The two boys began to collect their thoughts, but before either one could say anything, a bright light began to glow from behind the door, eventually closing around it, and spreading across the corridor towards them. 

Jay dashed back to his feet, and Dylan followed suit as the two boys scrambled back towards the opened section of the wall. 

The two boys paused for a moment back inside the bathroom, having gained some ground away from the light, they turned to see it stop right at the wall of the bathroom. The light grew brighter, forcing Jay to turn, and Dylan to cover his eyes with his arm. While Dylan’s arm was up against his head, he noticed the scar on his forehead started to fade, and the glasses on his face suddenly started to strain his eyes. Dylan felt the basilisk tooth in his hand get light, before eventually fading, leaving his hand empty, as well as the glasses set on his face fading in a similar fashion. 

“I think we fixed something…” Jay commented as the light faded, revealing a similar wall and sink to the one before, but now the same color as the rest of the bathroom. 

“Whatever was messing with me is gone, too,” Dylan added, rubbing his now-scarless forehead. The two boys dropped to the ground, exhausted, and took a moment to process what they had just done. 

“Do you think that’s the only one…?” Dylan asked, “Weird change like that, I mean.”. Jay shook his head, “I fuckin’ hope so, ‘cause we barely got out of there with our heartbeats.”. 

“I haven’t seen anything like that in my world, have you?” Dylan asked, still trying to blink out the strain the glasses put on his eyes. 

“This is the first and only I’ve seen…” Jay muttered, clearly trying to steady his breathing, and Dylan thought about asking the others when they met again. Thinking about the others suddenly made Dylan jolt up, telling Jay, “The others, what if they find something like that too?”. 

Jay thought for a moment, about how he and Dylan had barely escaped that chamber, and if Juniper and Skylar had found someplace like that too. Jay jumped up to his feet, answering Dylan with, “We need to hurry.”. Jay gave a hurried goodbye to Myrtle, and the two boys bolted down through the castle. 

As they ran towards the Archive, both boys were unable to shake a feeling that time was overwhelmingly against them. 

-End Chapter 11- 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Heya. Uh, sorry about giving Jay and Dylan all the love this chapter, I do plan to balance things out in the next one. I hope you enjoyed this one, and as always, thanks for coming by to read!)


	12. -An Incomplete Task-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night of relaxation and answers proves to have neither as Juniper discovers a significant difference between Skylar and the others, and a mysterious party crasher leads Juniper and Skylar to a strange new challenge, with backup still an entire world away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Hey! I know it sorta comes with the territory, but each of the core four pull from different parts of the game's canon, and for this chapter onwards especially, there will be spoilers for several main story quests, side quests, and event quests up to Sixth year, if you're not down with that, DO NOT PROCEED!)

Juniper waved to Jay and Dylan as they stepped through the green door, and slumped down into her chair once they were out of sight. While parties were not an unfamiliar battleground to her, she usually had a more socially competent companion like Penny or Andre to take the attention off her. That, or she had someone like Rowan or Merula to slink off into a corner with and talk to when her social battery went dead. This time, though, due to her odd nature of knowing Skylar, Juniper figured that she would be the center of attention at Skylar’s party. 

The spotlight wasn’t unfamiliar to her, of course, as Jacob’s sister, and her constant potentially-deadly exploits and rule-breaking in her hunts for the vaults, she was the subject of rumor after rumor in her world. Rumors, though, Juniper found were easy to block out if she just pushed her nose a little further into whatever book she was reading when the gossips walked by. What worried Juniper was not that there would be rumors waiting for her in Skylar’s world, but questions. It was harder to avoid questions, because questions expect answers, answers that Juniper was certain she didn’t have. 

“Anything you want to tell me?” Juniper looked up at the roof of the Archive, half expecting the room itself to start talking, though she received no answer. She stood up, pacing around the room, wondering if she should double back to her world and make sure she looked presentable. Juniper cursed herself, why was she so scared? Was Jay this nervous when he was visiting her world? Were any of the others this nervous?

No, of course not, the first thing he did in her world was dupe every single one of her friends into a stupid prank, and Dylan seemed antsier to go to Jay’s world than Jay was. Merlin, she wished Merula was with her. Or Rowan, or Penny, or anyone to get some eyes off of her. Shaking her head, she decided to distract herself the same way she has since she was a little girl, burying her nose in a book.

“Might as well read up on Badger while I wait...” Juniper muttered, walking over to the yellow bookshelf and taking one of the sixth-year tomes off and opening it up.

The entry was a fair way through Skylar’s sixth year, and most of the details were ones Juniper recognized as similar experiences. 

Though, as she read further, the events described began to wildly deviate from her own memories, and Juniper’s pace through the words increased, her brain seemingly refusing to believe what the book was describing. 

Another page turned, and both pages were blank, save for the one on the right, bearing a short sentence that made Juniper’s already nervous heart stop:

**“Rowan Khanna laid still on the forest floor, dead.”**

Juniper read the sentence and the page before and after over and over, certain that she had misread, Skylar’s Rowan was… dead? Juniper sped through the rest of the book, confirming that Juniper’s own Rowan was not in danger. She then turned back to that almost blank page, thinking about how Skylar had looked after Juniper had sent her to wake up Jay yesterday. Had she seen Jay’s Rowan, and been reminded of her own? Was Juniper’s own Rowan fated to die as well? 

Her hands began to shake as questions piled up in her head, and Juniper reached out with her free hand, closing her fingers around a small green fruit, a bergamot orange. 

She set the small fruit against her upper lip, forcing herself to slowly breathe through her nose. Since her fourth year, when Juniper had first told Merula how she felt, she had noticed that in close contact, Merula smelled very similar to the Italian citrus in her hand. The smell was a natural comfort for Juniper now, and her terrified heart began to settle in her chest as her brain registered the scent of the fruit. 

Her fingers still closed around the bergamot, Juniper closed the book, standing from her chair and replacing the yellow book in its spot on the shelf. She sat down, drawing her short, beech wand and holding the tip close to the bridge of her nose, a studying trick Rowan had taught her that helped the whirling questions in her head start to settle. 

Juniper took a deep breath as she collected her thoughts, and she stowed her wand back in her robes, holding the bergamot in both hands. Staring at the small green fruit, she could almost hear Merula’s voice.

 _“Are you ready for this?”._  
“No, I’m not. I don’t know what to tell them.”  
_“The truth. There’s nothing else to tell them.”_  
“But what if they don’t believe me? What if they don’t trust me?”  
_“That’s their problem. You have a mystery to solve, with or without their trust.”_  
“...I’ll be back soon. I love you.”  
_“Don’t die. I love you too, Detective.”_

“Who ya talkin’ to, Raven?” Skylar’s cheery voice startled Juniper, and the citrus in her hands vanished in a puff of green smoke. Juniper stood up, turning over to the smiling Hufflepuff girl that had just entered the room.

“Nobody, Badger, just thinking out loud. Are we off?” Juniper asked, and Skylar laughed, asking, “Are you that excited to go?”. Juniper considered telling her about what she had read, but even with her limited social graces, she decided that might be a tad too depressing a subject for friendly banter. 

“I am excited for an opportunity to observe alternate versions of my friends…” Juniper mused, “Though, I am concerned that I’m not as suited to the questions they may ask me.”. Skylar waved a hand dismissively, “Don’t worry, some of them might be a little… _excitable,_ but I can help field any questions we don’t have the answers to.”.

“Hey, either way, at least you look nice!” Skylar complimented, and Juniper smiled, her brain finally taking note of the outfit Skylar was wearing. A set of worn blue jeans under a pale yellow shirt laced with gold designs suddenly made Juniper feel overdressed in her tieless two-piece suit. 

“Thanks, but it’s just a leftover from my Celestial Ball that I charmed to fit me,” Juniper deflected, and it was true, this was the same outfit Andre had helped her pick out for the Celestial Ball in her fourth year. Skylar shook her head, laughing, “What does that have to do with looking nice? You look great, Raven, and you’re gonna be fine.”. Juniper took a deep breath, taking a short glance over at the yellow bookshelf, before sighing, “Very well. Lead the way, Badger.”.

Skylar and Juniper walked through the yellow door, and it was clear Skylar had forgotten to warn her friends about what exiting the Archive looked like to outsiders, as the moment the girls appeared in Jacob’s room, all eyes immediately turned to them. 

“...Hey guys!” Skylar greeted, extravagantly throwing out her hands, gesturing to Juniper like a game show host, “I found her!”.

“Oh goddammit, she’s real,” Tulip muttered from nearby, dropping five Galleons into a smug-looking Tonks’ palm. Jae walked over from a corner of the room, looking Juniper up and down, before asking, “Two questions, Should we call you something other than Second Skylar, and do you drink?”.

Juniper smiled, perhaps these people were not so different from the ones she knew, and responded, “Raven works fine, Jae, and are you offering me one?”. Jae smirked at Juniper’s answer, “Yeah, we’re gonna get on great,” Jae walked over to a corner of the room, reaching his arm into a small brown satchel.

Jae retrieved two unmarked bottles from the bag and walked back over to offer them to Juniper and Skylar, who both accepted, taking a seat against the yellow door behind them.

The questions didn’t take long to start after that, with Tulip bluntly asking, “so, who are you, exactly? Skylar’s only given us theories.”. Juniper shrugged, “Unfortunately, that’s all we have at the moment. My best bet is that I am a version of Skylar from another universe, while similar to her in many ways, there are several key differences.”.

“Care to share a few examples?” a curious-looking Penny asked from her seat nearby Skylar’s spot against the wall, and Juniper nodded, “The largest was that I was sorted into the house of Ravenclaw at the start of my first year, unlike Skylar.”.

The questions continued in a similar vein to that for a while, mostly Skylar’s friends about surface-level details of the differences between their worlds, the answers to most of which resulted in an array of responses, from obvious amusement to stories of their own recollections of events. After a particularly interesting story about Skylar and Penny basically being the only two people behind the operation of their world’s Celestial Ball, Juniper stood to walk over to the corner of the room for another drink. However, as she walked by, she noticed the door of Jacob’s room was hanging slightly ajar, and Juniper walked over to look through. 

The corridor was identical to the one Juniper remembered outside her own version of Jacob’s room, but a strange shadow at the end of the hallway caught her attention. When she looked closer, she saw a figure standing at the corner of the hallway, staring at Juniper through a dark, hooded robe. 

Immediately, Juniper’s brain began to weigh her options at a million miles a second. Before she could decide, though, the figure turned and began to run down a nearby staircase, and all deduction went out the window.

“Badger! It’s the hood! They’re here!” Juniper called, and Skylar pulled her head off of Penny’s shoulder, and jumped up off the floor of Jacob’s room, asking, “Like, the hood from Snake’s world?”.

“Yes, and they’re getting away!” Juniper confirmed, shoving the door open and running after the hooded figure, leaving Skylar to rush out a goodbye to her friends as she took off after Juniper.

Juniper counted her lucky stars that the castle’s layout was relatively unchanged, because the breakneck pace she was holding as she followed any tiny glimpse of black robes or footsteps likely would have made a misplaced column or stair significantly more fatal. Eventually, Juniper found herself facing a corridor that was dark and empty, save for the strange fixture at the end. It was less of a door, and more of a set of tent flaps, decorated with red and off-white stripes running horizontally into the ground.

“Rav...en… wait… up…” Skylar’s panting voice pleaded from behind Juniper, and she turned to see that the cheery Hufflepuff girl was exhausted from keeping up with Juniper through the castle. Immediately, Juniper felt her eyes sink to stare at her shoes as a pang of familiar guilt pushed down on her shoulders and chest.

“Badger, I… Are you all right?” Juniper asked, and Skylar nodded, saying, “Now that I have a second to breathe, yeah, I’m good.”. Skylar looked over to the doorway at the end of the corridor, smiling, “Looks like it was worth it. Wherever that leads, odds are we’ve got them cornered now.”.

“So, this was always here in your world?” Juniper asked, confused, and Skylar shrugged, “Nope. This is the first I’ve ever seen it, but it’s pretty obvious where we’re going next, right?”. Juniper nodded, and the two girls made their way down the hall, where Juniper noticed the stone walls of the corridor develop a brighter and brighter yellow hue as they got closer to the doorway. 

“Do you hear that?” Skylar asked, cupping a hand around her ear and turning her head to the tent opening, “Sounds like rain, or a waterfall, maybe.”. Juniper tilted her head towards the door, and she heard what Skylar was talking about, a strange roaring growing louder and louder as they got closer, almost like a raging waterfall, as Skylar had said.

Once they reached the cloth flaps, Juniper and Skylar both drew their wands, nodding to each other, and Skylar mouthed a count of three, and Juniper noticed that something had changed about her appearance. Her hair, which Juniper distinctly remembered as long and dirty blonde, had shortened significantly and turned a much darker brown. Juniper also noticed that the formerly short and stocky Hufflepuff had become lithe and at least a few inches taller than Juniper herself.

On ‘three’, both girls threw one of the cloth flaps aside, immediately scanning the area, and they noticed that despite the stone castle they were in moments ago, they were surrounded by an empty tent with the same pattern as the flaps they had just come through. Sunlight also seemed to shine through the fabric, and the stone floors of the castle had turned into a grassy field beneath their feet. The sound the two girls heard also became more distinct, and Skylar was actually able to identify the sound properly.

“It’s a _crowd,_ Raven, and a big one,” Skylar deduced as the two lowered the wands, looking around the tent again, much more closely, now that it was clear they were alone.

“It would seem so…” Juniper agreed, now able to pick out the occasional voice from the roaring coming from nearby. Juniper didn’t recognize the tent from anywhere, sitting down on a nearby bench as Skylar looked around, and dropping her face into her hands, rubbing her eyes under her glasses.

“Y’know, this kinda looks like a locker room or something…” Skylar reasoned, and Juniper looked around, the small tent did indeed have a set of four cubbies near one wall, but they appeared to be empty. 

“Hey, Raven?” Skylar walked over to Juniper as she stood up, and she seemed to finally notice that she had started to look down to meet Juniper’s eyes, asking, “Did, uh, did you get shorter?”. 

“I have not,” Juniper answered, looking around the tent again, noticing a small brown bag near the front of the tent, leaning against a short stone column. Walking over to it, she continued, “Something about this place seems to have altered your appearance.”. Skylar walked over next to Juniper, noticing that the column had a gold plate set on the top, and a ghostly image of an egg hovered above it. Skylar reached out to touch the image, and her hand passed through it, almost like she was trying to touch a ghost. 

“Badger, look at this…” Juniper opened the bag, dropping its contents onto a bench near the front of the tent, revealing small statuettes of four dragons. Glancing back over at the ghostly egg, Skylar crouched down to look at the statuettes, still not quite used to her own height, and asked Juniper, “Do you recognize any of them?”. 

Juniper looked the statuettes over, and recognized all four from her magizoology studies with Hagrid back in her world, identifying the four from left to right, “A Swedish Short-Snout, a Common Welsh Green, a Chinese Fireball, and…”. Picking up the fourth statuette, Juniper grimaced, wondering what kind of crowd would come out for any competition involving, “...A Hungarian Horntail.”.

“Do you think it’s like some kind of challenge?” Skylar asked, pointing over to the spectral egg, “Like, we pick one, and we have to find one of their eggs and put it there?”.

“That may very well be the case,” Juniper deduced, “Though, choosing which one is no easy choice…”. Skylar scratched her head, asking, “Don’t you study these guys? Why don’t we just pick the friendliest one and put it to sleep or something?”.

“As much as I like your optimism, Badger, I’m afraid they don’t make friendly dragons,” Juniper looked down along the four statuettes, considering the four options in front of them. Suddenly, Skylar felt her arms move on their own, almost like she had been possessed, reaching out and closing her fingers around the statuette Juniper had identified as the Swedish Short-Snout.

 _“This one,”_ A boy’s voice said from the back of Skylar’s throat, causing Juniper to jump back, _“This is the one I can beat.”_.

* * *

Penny’s head hurt, bad. She looked up and down the empty corridor she saw Skylar follow that Ravenclaw girl down, but she still only saw an empty corridor, no trace of either one. There was no other way for them to have gone, no doors, windows, or even columns to hide behind, just an empty, unassuming corridor. Deciding she must have taken a wrong turn, Penny turned back to return to Jacob’s hideout, frustrated and confused.

Skylar had been Penny’s friend for several years now, why did she trust this one Ravenclaw girl who Penny was sure didn’t even use her real name, and, if Skylar was right, wasn’t even supposed to exist, more than her? 

Every instinct told Penny that Skylar was in danger, that she needed her help, but the feeling that Skylar was somewhere she couldn’t reach ate away at her. The closer she got to Jacob’s room, the more a plan started to form in her head. 

“I’ll gather together whoever's still conscious, we’ll go back down there, and… and… dammit,” Penny muttered, unable to come up with anything she hadn’t already tried on her own.

When Penny reached the door to Jacob’s room, she heard a commotion from the other side, including a few voices, two of which she didn’t recognize. Before Penny could open the door herself, the door was thrown open, and Penny was greeted by two boys about her age. One of them, a scrawny-looking boy clad in Slytherin robes, smiled when he noticed Penny standing there, saying, “Perfect, just in time!”. Before Penny could ask the Slytherin to elaborate, the other boy spoke up, a Gryffindor who looked like he could toss Penny the length of the corridor, though his question came in an oddly gentle voice.

“Penny, we don’t have a lot of time, your friend, Skylar, she went somewhere with a Ravenclaw. Do you know where?” The Gryffindor asked, and Penny quickly asked, “How could you two possibly know that? How do you know my name? How-”.

“The clock’s tickin’, Penny, you’ll get your answers once our people are safe,” The Slytherin cut her off, “We need to hurry, are you going to tell us or are you gonna risk making us guess?”. Penny turned and gestured for the two to follow as she took off back to the empty corridor.

Penny didn’t see it from her position leading the other two boys, but from behind her, a figure in a black hood watched them sprint down the corridor, drawing a wand from their robes, and slowly following behind.

-End Chapter 12-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Hey! Sorry that this one's a little longer than usual. I'm gonna be working a little bit more on some other projects for a while, but I do have another Tale for you guys while you wait. As always, let me know how I can improve, and thanks so much for coming by!)


	13. -A Poor Plan, Well Executed-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With nothing but their wit and their wands to guide them, Juniper and Skylar steel themselves for the challenge ahead of them, and Dylan and Jay race through an unfamiliar Hogwarts to warn their friends of the danger ahead. At the same time, an enigmatic figure watches from afar, unaware that they themselves are due for an unexpected visit.

“This was a mistake,” Skylar immediately registered as the small statuette vanished in her palm. A small plume of silver dust rose into the air from where the statuette was, and it zipped out through another flap of the tent, in the direction of the roaring crowd. Juniper walked over and pulled the tent flap back a little, peering through the crack.

She saw a rocky arena, short cliffs and loose boulders decorated a massive circular arena lined with a crowd of people. After spotting the centerpiece of the arena, however, Juniper sucked in a terrified breath and shot away from the flap. 

“What? What is it?” Skylar walked over to the flap and looked through. There, in the center of the arena, bluish-grey scales glittering in the still-untimely afternoon sun, was a 23-foot Swedish Short-Snout, pacing the stony arena.

Quickly whirling back, Skylar jumped next to Juniper, her face pale and her heart suddenly pounding out her chest.

“Dragon,” Skylar noted, to which Juniper confirmed, “Dragon.”. Skylar looked back over to the pillar, the spectral egg still hovering above it, and asked Juniper, “Did you see something out there?”. Juniper nodded, “Yes. I saw a massive fuckoff dragon, Badger. Perhaps we leave it at that.”. Skylar frowned, “I think we need to go in there.”. Juniper looked at Skylar like she had grown a second head, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right. I could swear you just said we need to go _in_ there. With the _dragon._ ”.

“Aren’t you doing something on magizoology?” Skylar asked, “Do you have any experience dealing with dragons?”. Juniper crossed her arms over her chest, “I’ve been trying to properly tame a Chinese Fireball, named her Scarlet, but it’s been a slow process.”.

“I think we need to get something from that dragon,” Skylar pointed over to the pillar, and Juniper groaned, “ _Of course we fucking do..._ ”. Skylar crouched down, drawing a circle in the dirt, making a small ‘X’ near the center.

“If it’s an egg we need, it’ll be sitting on the nest,” Juniper said, crouching down near the circle, “One of us will have to get it to move.”. Skylar tapped her wand to the left of the ‘X’, saying, “I can make some noise, get its attention.”.

“Draw its attention?” Juniper asked incredulously, “You know, you could just ask me to try the Killing Curse on you and cut out the middleman.”.

“Why don’t we just leave?” Juniper asked, pointing back towards the entrance, “Nothing is keeping us here, Badger.”. Skylar frowned, Juniper wanted a reason to leave, and she didn't blame her, but Skylar responded with, “Because you know that if we don’t figure out what this place is now, it’s gonna keep us up every night until we do.”.

“Damn our curiosity…” Juniper muttered, drawing an arrow from the edge of the circle to the opposite side of the ‘X’, “Fine, once you’ve gotten it to turn, I’ll grab the egg and get back. What about you?”. Skylar paused, she hadn’t thought of an escape, it was usually Tulip who helped figure out the plans, that, or… 

Skylar shook her head, this wasn’t the time, and she racked her brain, trying to think of a way to get out of the dragon’s line of fire once Juniper had the egg. Suddenly, like a voice whispering into her ear, an idea popped up, and she held her long Alder wand, and offered, “What if we showed it something easier to chase, like a cow or a dog?”.

“It would take an impressive feat of Transfiguration,” Juniper warned, but Skylar stood, her resolve unnaturally firm, and a boy’s voice repeated in her head, “I got this, I got this, I got this…”.

“We can do this,” Skylar assured, and she and Juniper walked back towards the tent flap, and Juniper started to count, “One…”.

“Two…” Skylar followed.

“Three!” Both girls charged past the tent flap as the crowd around them roared louder, and the dragon fixed its eyes on them as they sped away from each other.

 _“Vermillious!”_ Skylar called, thrusting her wand into the air, sending a shower of red sparks up above her, and she began to yell towards the dragon, “Over here! Yeah, come look at me!”. The dragon obliged, turning it’s massive form towards Skylar, revealing a nest of eggs below it.

* * *

As the dragon turned, Juniper saw a single egg shining out from the rest, a brilliant golden egg sat among the other blue-speckled ones. Juniper vaulted up onto a short cliff, hearing Skylar shout to keep the dragon’s attention as she got closer to the nest. 

The dragon paused as it followed Skylar, and Juniper realized too late what was coming as it’s mouth swung open, a blue glow emanating from its jaws.

“BADGER! GET DOWN!” Juniper yelled, but she could barely hear herself over the crowd and the rumbling dragon in front of her. Skylar registered what the dragon was doing, and ran to find a boulder to take cover behind, but quickly realized there was none to be found. Juniper sprinted towards Skylar, thoughts of getting at the egg completely gone from her mind as the dragon brought its head down, fixed on Skylar.

 _“INCARCEROUS!”_ Two voices bellowed from behind the dragon, and tens of invisible ropes appeared from behind the dragon, winding around its head and body, forcing its mouth to snap shut, and pinned the Short-Snout’s wings to its sides. The dragon struggled for a short moment, before spreading its wings to their full length, snapping the magical ropes around its body as jets of blue fire spouted from in between its teeth.

“Thank Merlin we made it!” Dylan’s voice came from behind Juniper, and she whirled around, her brain still too overwound to respond properly, so she instead sputtered out, “Golden egg, back to tent.”.

“Grab it, We’ve got this,” Dylan assured, pointing up to where Skylar was standing.

* * *

Skylar braced for the flames of the dragon to consume her, but after several seconds, she found that not only was she alive, she hadn’t even been singed. She jumped up, and Jay’s familiar voice rang from next to her, “Helluva party, Badger.”.

“Keep it on us,” Skylar informed, “Raven has to get an egg back to the tent, and we have to keep it off her.”. Jay nodded, turning back to face the dragon, gritting his teeth and Skylar heard him growl as his form was replaced by a barking German Shepherd in a whirl of black and brown fur. 

_“Bombarda!”_ Skylar aimed her wand at a nearby rock as Jay began to bark at the Short-Snout, and the rock was tossed into the air by the small explosions, landing back on the ground with a resounding crack.

The dragon snarled, seemingly trying to decide which of the two to chase first, not noticing Juniper lifting the golden egg out of the nest below it. The dragon settled on turning to Skylar, who started to circle across the cliffs away from the entrance, and Jay ran down alongside her, barking and howling as he did.

* * *

The dragon turned further, unleashing a blast of fire just behind Jay and Skylar, and Juniper bolted away from the nest, jumping down the stone cliffs towards where Dylan was waiting, and he took off with her as Juniper passed by.

“Got it?” He asked, and Juniper held up the egg, answering, “Got it! Get it in, I’m gonna help Badger and Snake!”. Juniper tossed the egg to Dylan, who took off towards the entrance, and Juniper pivoted on her toes as she drew her wand. Ducking behind a nearby boulder, she flicked her wand, angling the dragon directly opposite her on the stone, muttering, _“Flipendo.”_.

* * *

Scampering across stone after stone, Skylar noticed an empty space in the nest, and realized that Juniper had succeeded, turning down to Jay as he ran next to her, saying, “They got it, Snake, Time to go!”. Jay gave a short huff, shaking his canine head, a gesture Skylar was pretty sure meant he understood. Before Skylar could think of a way back, There was a crash from behind the dragon, raining gravel down on Skylar and Jay. The dragon whipped around, roaring at the surprise attacker, and Skylar noticed the tent flaps just past the dragon’s feet, shifting her direction to guide Jay without tripping over him. 

The two ran full pelt towards the tent, but Skylar noticed the dragon starting to flap its wings, flying up above Juniper, aiming its head down at the Ravenclaw girl. 

_“Diffindo!”_ Skylar yelled, cueing Juniper to scramble towards her as massive cuts snaked along the leathery wings of the Short-Snout, causing its column of flame to miss Juniper, and it began to plummet to the ground.

The two girls practically dove through the tent flap as the dragon impacted with the ground like a snarling meteor, sending bits of gravel and debris all over the arena. Skylar and Juniper jumped to their feet, and Skylar grabbed the golden egg out from under Dylan’s hand, moving to place it above the pillar.

“Wait, before you-” Dylan started to say as Skylar aligned the egg with the outline, and it started to float above the pillar as Skylar let go. Light shot from lines along the egg, burning Skylar’s eyes, and the area around the pillar started to turn into pure white light. 

“We need to go. Now!” Jay, now a human again, yelled, as the light around the pillar spread across the ground and up the walls of the tent. Skylar and Juniper bolted away from the expanding light, following close behind the already-fleeing Jay and Dylan. Throwing the flaps of the exit to the tent aside, the four students found themselves back in the empty Hogwarts hallway they entered from. 

* * *

Skylar quickly noticed with a small pang of disappointment that her extra height had vanished, and she was once again the shortest of the four. The tent opening glowed with the same bright light before it slowly faded, and as the light went out, the yellow color of the hallway turned back into the normal, drab brown.

“Holy shit,” Juniper exhaled, and the other three all took similarly relieved breaths, Dylan and Jay, in particular, dropping down to the ground, clearly exhausted. 

Skylar looked up and down the hallway, and noticed Penny’s long blonde hair facing away from them, seemingly keeping watch at the end of the hallway. Walking up behind her, Skylar tapped her on the shoulder, “Hey, Penny.”.

Penny immediately spun to face Skylar, wrapping her arms around her in a bear hug, “Oh thank Merlin! I saw you vanish with that girl, and I thought that-” Penny cut herself off, resting her head on Skylar’s, “I’m glad you’re not dead.”.

“That makes two of us,” Skylar joked, praying her face didn’t look as red as it felt, “Did you lead Snake and Lion to us?”.

“Those two boys?” Penny let go, pointing over to where Jay and Dylan were sitting, “Yeah, they just sort of appeared in Jacob’s room, in a hurry to find you.”.

“Thank you, Penny,” Skylar nodded, turning to the others, “We should head back, we probably have some explaining to do.”.

“Eh, what’re a few mysterious invaders between friends, really?” Jay smirked as he picked himself up, lifting Dylan to his feet. Dylan grimaced, flicking small bits of stone off his robes, “Do we all smell like charcoal, or is that just me?”.

“We smell like a bloody forest fire, Lion,” Jay laughed as Skylar and Penny led them back to Jacob’s room.

* * *

Back inside Jacob’s room, the four filed through the door into the dusty hideout, the mood now much quieter than the one Juniper and Skylar had left them in. 

“Sorry about that, guys, little something came up,” Skylar apologized, awkwardly gesturing to the other three next to her, “Uh, you guys know Raven…”. 

“That makes us Lion and Snake,” Dylan waved, pointing to himself and Jay, “Has Ba- Skylar explained the situation to you guys?”. 

“Poorly, yes,” Tulip confirmed from the far end of the room, “It’s confusing, to say the least, but you two are related to Skylar Valentine the same way Raven is?”. 

“That’s the short version, yeah,” Jay nodded, stretching his arms up over his head and yawning as he walked over to the yellow door, “Well, I’m sure you all have questions, and they’ll be happy to answer them.”.

“Not so fast,” Juniper grabbed the collar of Jay’s shirt from behind, causing the boy to gag as she turned to Dylan, asking, “How did you know to come to find us?”. 

“Oh, right, we never explained that,” Dylan remembered as Jay stood, rubbing his neck, coughing out, “We had something like that happen to us, so we figured you lot were in trouble.”.

“You guys fought a dragon, too?” Skylar asked, and Penny quickly raised a hand from where she was standing, “Um, what do you mean, ‘too?’, what happened there?”. 

“Basilisk,” Jay corrected as Skylar turned around to talk to Penny, causing Juniper, as well as most others in the room, to jolt, before Dylan quickly added, “It was dead when we found it, no threat to anyone.”.

“It seems we have some catching up to do,” Juniper reasoned, “Should we meet again once classes let out tomorrow?”.

“Sorry, no can do, Raven,” Jay shook his head sadly, “I’m taking Merula up to th’ Broomsticks for the first day of winter.”. Dylan shook his head, muttering, “Never gonna get used to hearin’ stuff like that…” before nodding to Juniper, “I can fill you in, Raven.”.

“Thank you, Lion. Treat her well, Snake,” Juniper smiled, and Jay winked, replying, “As well as you treat yours.”. Jay turned, walking back towards the door, slipping through, back into the Archive. 

From Jacob’s room, Barnaby’s low voice rumbled from the corner, asking, “Um, did he say ‘Merula’?”. Skylar turned away from Penny, and smiled at the large Slytherin boy, “Yeah, Snake’s dating his version of Merula Snyde.”.

“So his taste in women is worse than yours…” Jae smirked from next to where Barnaby was sitting, “But his confidence is better?”. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Skylar lied as she crossed her arms, looking down at the floor of the room, before quickly snapping her attention to Juniper and Dylan, “You guys probably need to head home, right?”.

“I can’t feel my legs after all that running, so… yeah, I think I’m gonna tap out,” Dylan answered, and Juniper picked a small piece of debris out of her hair, tossing it on to the ground, “Will we see you in the Archive tomorrow, Badger?”. 

“I mean, unless somebody needs me for something…” Skylar asked the others around her, mostly met with silence, save for Tonks, who grinned, telling her, “The minute we find a way in there, you’re never getting a moment of peace again.”.

“Yeah, I’ll see you guys then,” Skylar confirmed, “Be safe, guys.”. Juniper covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned, “We will. You do the same, Badger, we’ll discuss this all further tomorrow.”.

* * *

Inside the Archive, Juniper and Dylan took a minute to pause, thinking more about what they had done.

“So,” Juniper ventured, “Before we call it a night, I do have one quick question. Did anything change about either of you, physically, when you…”. Juniper stopped for a minute, trying to find the right word, settling on, “Found the thing in Snake’s world?”. Dylan rubbed his eyes, partially because he was tired, but mostly remembering what had happened to his sight in that room. 

“Yeah, my eyes stopped working, and my forehead started feelin’ like someone put a knife through it,” Dylan answered, causing Juniper to raise an eyebrow in concern, “Strange, something similar happened to Badger when we entered that tent…”. 

“Snake says I got a crazy-ass scar on my forehead, too…” Dylan continued, “Why were you and he left alone, and it was just Badger and I who got messed with?”.

“Another question for the list…” Juniper sighed, “Though the scar sounds faintly familiar, I’ll have to look into that.”.

“Don’t lose any sleep over it, Raven,” Dylan advised, “We’ll have plenty of time to work it out tomorrow.”.

“If I had a Sickle for every time someone’s told me that…” Juniper laughed, turning to the blue door inside the Archive and waving to Dylan, “See you then, Lion.”.

“G’night, Raven,” Dylan responded as he crossed the Archive to his own door, ducking down and walking through.

* * *

Dropping his face down onto his pillow, Jay found himself falling asleep far faster than he normally did, as though he were falling through his bed. 

He opened his eyes and saw that he and Rowan’s dormitory had vanished, and he was surrounded by a dark, black void, with only the ground beneath his feet glowing with silver light. Large shards of a strange, glassy material floated in from the darkness, surrounding him, each reflecting a different angle of Jay’s face.

Tentatively, Jay took a step forward, and the light below his feet vanished as his foot left the ground, but returned as it touched back down.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jay looked around at the massive shards of glass surrounding him, hanging idly in the air. From behind him, there was the sound of footsteps, and Jay spun around, reaching up to draw his wand with his right hand, and pulling out the rose-patterned dagger with the other. 

The source of the footsteps appeared to be a figure about Jay’s height, cloaked in a black, hooded robe. The figure looked up at Jay and spoke in a young man’s voice.

“You’re not supposed to be here.”.

-End Chapter 13-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Heya! Sorry this one took ages to get out, I was planning to drop this chapter at the same time as one for my other ongoing work, as well as the start of a third project, but things sorta fell apart, so those will be going up soon, just not immediately. Sorry again about the delay, let me know if there's any way I can improve my writing, and as always, thanks for coming by!)


	14. -A Day In The Life-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the chaos and confusion of the previous weekend, the four take a much-needed rest in the predictability of their regular classes. One of their number, however, is granted a special insight into another force at play, and the true danger they may be in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Dropped some exposition that messed with the flow. Don't worry, I'll find a better place to put it later on.

Jay had seen some weird things these past few years, many of which also tried to kill him. He had actually started keeping a list of things that have tried to kill him, and every time he added something to it, he wondered if he would have been upset if that thing had been what finally did him in. Of everything on that list, though, “ _Killed by the subject of his most recent investigation in a dream which then killed him in real life_ ” was certainly one of the more memorable reasons to go. Staring at the hooded figure he had been chasing just the previous day, now a mere twelve feet away, he felt his body start to move without him willing it. His right leg drew back, and his left knee bent down, the fingers clenched around his wand tensing, and the hand gripping the dagger started to turn white at the knuckles. As Jay’s body tensed for a fight, the black void around him started to whisper, and the dagger in his hand reflected a faint white light. 

“How did you find this place?” The hooded figure asked, snapping Jay out of his reminiscing, and he answered, slowly starting to pace to one side, “I’d tell you if I knew, pal. Hell, I don’t even know where _‘this place’_ is.”.

“This…” The hooded figure continued, and as they spoke, Jay noticed a quiet hissing behind their words, almost as though a second voice was speaking alongside them, “...Is a place of Incursion. Where a world, or worlds, have intruded upon another.”.

“No offense, but your world is depressing. How do I get back to my world?” Jay asked, the back of his brain still tensed for combat as the figure started to drift in the same direction as Jay. The hooded figure shook their head as they and Jay circled each other, responding, “We are not a native to this world, nor is any living being. This is a rare Incursion, where multiple worlds can be reached, but does not draw from any world itself.”. Jay huffed, trying to deduce whether he should just charge the figure, or keep talking while he figured a way out, deciding on, “Again, no offense, but why should I care about this?”.

“You have seen an Incursion in your world, is that correct?” The hooded figure asked, and Jay shrugged, not shifting his wand away from the figure, “You mean the room with the basilisk in the bathroom?”.

“We are here to help you remove them…” The figure continued, “...If these errors are allowed to remain, they will grow, pulling themselves back to their own realities, and consequently, will rend your worlds asunder, and all you love will be removed from any reality.”.

“Well that’s no good,” Jay frowned, “But, uh… If you don’t mind me asking, why are these things even here?”. The figure looked down into the infinite void of blackness below them, “I do not know, but if there is to be any hope of saving your worlds, you must allow us to assist you, it is only a wizard of incredible skill-”.

“Stop right there,” Jay stopped his pacing, “I come from a house of people who have made it their creed to be the sneakiest, craftiest, and most cunning S-O-Bs in Hogwarts. You’re gonna have to do better than flattery to get me to trust you. Why do you care what happens to our worlds?”.

“Our motivations are none of your concern,” The hooded figure answered, and Jay cocked an eyebrow, “In my experience, an answer like that means your motivations are _absolutely_ my concern.”. The hooded figure reached into a seam of their coat, drawing a wand, and as they spoke, the young man’s voice suddenly grew much louder than the hissing, “WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN?”. 

“Sounds like I touched a nerve,” Jay remarked, “Are we fighting now? If we are, could you keep it away from the face? I have a date coming up.”. The hooded figure fell quiet, swinging their head back and forth, keeping their wand trained on Jay as he scanned the floating glass surrounding them for a way out. 

“Hey, before I forget, what should I call you?” Jay asked the hooded figure, “Because I think calling you ‘Mystery Man’ might be a bit too on-the-nose.”. The hooded figure slowly stopped shaking their head, looking up at Jay, and spoke as they did before, with the person’s voice and the hissing voice again balanced, “You may call us Main.”.

“Great, Main. So, uh… hate to ask it, but where’s your exit door?” Jay asked, stowing his wand, but keeping the blade drawn, “I don’t want to risk being late for class today, and I don’t know how much time has passed…”. 

“Of course,” Main’s hissing voice had grown louder ever so slightly, “But before you go, can you answer a question of our own?”. Jay looked around, a little unsettled by Main’s sudden amicable demeanor, “Uh, yeah? Shoot.”.

 **“Where are the others?”** Main’s voice was now entirely that of the second voice, a chilling, snakelike voice that almost didn’t seem to belong to a person, **“Where are the others who have visited your world?”.** Every alarm bell in Jay’s head rang out telling him not to answer, and Jay tentatively took a step back, “I… uh… don’t know what you’re talking about…”.

 **“Do. Not. Lie. TO ME!”** Main sprinted at Jay and flicked their wand out, commanding, _**“Petrificus Totalus!”**_. A grey bolt of energy burst from Main’s wand, and Jay quickly rolled back over his shoulder, sinking into a crouch as the spell whizzed over his head. 

“Alright, well, if you won’t show me the door…” Jay muttered, pulling his open hand up to his dagger and resting the edge against his palm, “I’ll let myself out.”. Main turned to face Jay, and Jay could just barely make out a pair of snake-like pupils as they shouted, **“NO!”**. Jay flicked the blade of the dagger across his palm and winced as the bite of the blade sent a searing jolt of pain up his arm, and his vision went white.

* * *

Jay suddenly jolted awake in his bed, and he immediately spotted Rowan standing next to his bed. Rowan flinched as Jay shot upright in bed, quickly shaking off his surprise, asking, “You alright, mate? Rough dream?”. Jay nodded, putting a hand up to his forehead, “You have no idea… How late is it?”. Rowan looked down at his watch and said, “You’re not late for class, if that’s what you’re worried about. The sun only beat you by about ten minutes.”. Jay looked around the room and saw that the dormitory had only just started to glow with early morning light.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Jaybird?” Rowan asked, and Jay sighed, looking at his right hand, now sporting a bleeding slice across the palm, “Maybe not.”. Rowan immediately ran over to his side of the room and snatched up his wand, before turning back to grab Jay’s bleeding hand and muttering, _“Episkey.”_. The cut slowly began to close itself, and Jay laughed, flexing his fingers as the wound sealed, “Have I mentioned lately I’d be a dead man without you, Rowan?”.

“Never hurts to say it again,” Rowan smiled, “You should, uh, probably still run some water over that hand before class starts.”. Jay laughed as he stood up, “You’re right, probably not smart to show up to Charms with a bloody hand, might give Flitwick a heart attack.”. Jay swapped out his pajamas for his usual school robes, and packed the leather bag hanging over one of his bedposts with a stack of textbooks, “Alright, here’s to not bleeding out in class today.”.

* * *

Dylan took a deep breath of the crisp winter air as he watched the horizon from his spot in formation during his Flying class. Madam Hooch was taking the winter weather as a chance to discuss flying in dangerous weather, but Dylan had so much experience flying through the zero-visibility maze of the Forbidden Forest, it took more than a threat of snow to get him to listen.

“Naturally, the collection of moisture in the air will make your broom more difficult to grip,” Madame Hooch informed, “So it is imperative that you never allow yourself to lose contact with your broom.”.

“That includes you, Mr. Lavorre,” hearing Madam Hooch say his name snapped Dylan’s focus to the class, however, and he gave a good-natured smile, responding, “Of course, Professor.”. Dylan knew exactly what Madame Hooch was talking about, of course, The Phoenix Down. This hadn’t been the first time Dylan had been reminded that his signature move was circumstantial, easily predicted, and borderline suicidal, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. As Madame Hooch gave the signal to start practicing through the course, Dylan took another deep breath, counting in his head, “Three… Two… One…”.

“It always amazes me how you manage to get up here so quickly, Lavorre,” Dylan rolled his eyes Merula Synde’s smug, superior twisting of the face she called a smile glided in next to him, “Though, I suppose you were bound to be good at something. Well, relative to everything else”.

“Right on cue, Synde. You’re as predictable as you are a nuisance,” Dylan shot back, and as he looked over to the Slytherin girl floating next to him, he wondered how wildly different his Merula must be for both his emerald and his sapphire-clad counterparts to have fallen for their world’s versions. Merula scoffed at the taunt, but it was enough for what Dylan was after, as she returned, “You might want to take it slow today, Lavorre, most baby birds don’t fly very well in the snow.”. Dylan looked over his other shoulder, noticing that Madame Hooch was busy instructing a few other students on the ground, and his friend and classmate, Tonks, was slowly flying up to his side opposite Merula. Dylan smiled to Merula, “I seem to have to remind you of this every class, Snyde, but this isn’t some featherless chick you’re dealing with.”. Dylan pulled himself into a standing position on his broom, bending his knees down and pushing his hips out, leaning back over his broom and dramatically throwing his arms out, turning hands out into upward-facing claws. 

_“I’m the goddamn Firehawk.”._

From his back, he heard Tonks’ voice whisper, _“Vermillious,”_ and a shower of red sparks backed his dramatic pose, and he cast a shadow over his rival. Merula scoffed as Dylan dropped down onto his broom, “An overzealous name for an overdramatic meathead. Your antics don’t hide your obvious lack of skill, and they never will, Lavorre.”.

“Did you come just for the trash-talking, or did you come for the main course this time too, Snyde?” Dylan asked, and Merula grimaced, “What in Merlin’s creaky desk chair are you on about now, Lavorre?”. Dylan looked over to Tonks and quietly requested, “Count us down from three, Tonks.”. The Hufflepuff trickster gave an “okay” sign with her hand, and Dylan turned around as Tonks began to count.

“Three…”  
“You hadn’t heard? It’s a delicacy, you can only find it out here on the grounds.”

Merula leaned down on her broom and gritted her teeth as she heard Tonks’ countdown, readying herself for the race.

“Two…”  
“You won’t throw me off, Lavorre, just out with this fancy dish of yours.”

Tonks smirked at Dylan as he rolled his shoulders, Merula goading him into racing through the course of the week wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, but Dylan was still thankful that the prankster would be willing to be an impartial judge, even if the results were never difficult to contend.

“One…”  
“Well, if you insist…”.

Dylan focused on the course in front of them, a series of rings to dive through, then a grid of posts to weave between. Cake.

“GO!”  
“It’s my dust. Eat up, Snyde.”.

* * *

Scribbling barely-legible notes on a piece of parchment while Professor McGonagall gave her lecture, Skylar saw a note get slid to her from Tulip, who was sitting next to her. The small note only had a small sketch of a black bird with a question mark next to it. Skylar slid the note closer and flipped it over, and wrote on the back, disguising it as more notes, “Nothing from them yet. Plan on talking more after class.”. Waiting for McGonagall to turn as she paced the front of the classroom, Skylar carefully slid the note back along the desk. The lecture turned into practice, and McGonagall began to walk up and down the corridors of desks, and Skylar soon received another note from Tulip. 

“Sure I can’t come with?” Skylar frowned slightly at the note, after discovering the door, Skylar had tried several times to get her friends through, only ever resulting in slamming into the wall behind it. 

“I would love you to come with if I knew a way,” Skylar scribbled back, shifting her arm to cover enough of the note for a passing McGonagall to dismiss it as part of Skylar’s notes before passing it over.

“Plan on fighting more dragons?”  
“Never. Leaving them to Charlie from now on.”.

Tulip’s muffled laugh at Skylar’s third response earned a sudden look of suspicion from McGonagall, but she managed to play it off as a muffled cough. 

“Going back tonight?”  
“Lion’s going to tell me and Raven about the place he found.”.

A brief moment of actual note-taking, a fourth note appeared in Tulip’s signature scratchy handwriting.

“Y’know, if things never work out with Penny, that Raven is pretty cute too…”  
“No, Tulip. For so many reasons.”.

* * *

Professor Binns’ monotone voice seemed to slip in one of Juniper’s ears and out the other more and more easily as the year went on, and even the normally-studious Ravenclaw found it difficult to fight off a midday nap whenever she entered the classroom. Luckily, Juniper had found a way to turn the eternally droning class into a prime tactical opportunity. Looking over towards the front of her desk, Juniper closed her eyes and released a slow exhale, one that most students wouldn’t hear over Binns’ constant lecture, but enough to give her a moment to put her favorite mystery-solving practice to work. Letting the classroom around her fade, Juniper found herself standing next to a large corkboard with another person, an older woman identical to Juniper herself, wearing a long, tan trench coat, and clutching a cigarette between her fingers.

“So… Let’s get everything we know up here, first,” Detective Arbre opened, and Juniper placed pictures of herself, Dylan, Jay, and Skylar, stringing a piece of red yarn from her own picture to each of the other three.

“Lion, Snake, and Badger are all some manifestation of myself, with similar experiences and core character, but there also appear to be differences in character that make us separate people.”.

Juniper put up another picture, her door to the Archive, and continued, “We met in here, a place we call the Archive, and it seems to connect our worlds.”.

“There’s also this place,” Juniper put up a picture of the tent entrance she and Skylar found, “A strange, extradimensional space we found in Badger’s world, but I fear our opportunity to study that place further is gone.”.

“Do we know of any connection between these places?” Detective Arbre asked, and Juniper shook her head, “Other than they’re not supposed to be there, no.”.

“Look back, Juniper, there’s been a common reaction you seem to have missed,” Detective Arbre put up two pictures on the board, one of Penny, and one of Tulip, and Detective Arbre marked the pictures with ‘Badger’ and ‘Raven’ respectively. Detective Arbre threaded two more pieces of string, one from Tulip’s picture to Juniper’s door to the Archive, and the other from Penny’s picture to the stadium entrance. 

“Tulip couldn’t see the door to the Archive, but Penny led Snake and Lion to the stadium, right?” Juniper remembered Tulip saying she had vanished when she first entered the Archive, and Detective Arbre shook her head, “You’re half right. Penny led Snake and Lion to where you and Badger vanished, but if she were so worried, why didn’t she come with them?”.

“Maybe Lion and Snake told her to stay back?” Juniper reasoned, and Detective Arbre shrugged, “If they did, do you think that would have stopped her?”. Juniper nodded, “Right, so… Badger’s Penny must not have been able to see the stadium entrance, just like Tulip couldn’t see the Archive entrance.”.

“So that means whatever’s hiding the Archive…” Detective Arbre started, and Juniper finished, “Was hiding the stadium, too. I’d also be willing to bet that the place Lion and Snake found was hidden similarly, too.”.

“Too many coincidences to be a mistake,” Detective Arbre agreed, and put up another picture, connecting it to the stadium, one of the taller, leaner Skylar, “There’s also what happened to Skylar, that strange transformation she went through, didn’t Lion say something similar happened to him?”.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Juniper put a picture of a blank silhouette with a question mark on it up, connecting it to the transformed Skylar, “What if it wasn’t just a change, but an attempted correction?”. Juniper threaded the picture of the stadium and the unknown figure together, continuing, “What if someone like Skylar originally came from that stadium, and- and the world was trying to force her into a more familiar shape?”.

“So that would make the stadium…” Detective Arbre guided, and Juniper crossed her arms, completing the statement with, “A piece of another world, not connected through the Archive.”.

“I think that’s all we know right now,” Detective Arbre took a drag from the cigarette in her hand, “Let’s come back to this once we talk to Lion.”.

Nodding, Juniper allowed Detective Arbre to return to her subconscious, and Juniper found herself back in Professor Binns’ classroom, now just in time for the ghostly professor to dismiss the class for the day.

* * *

Looking down at the instructions in his textbook, Jay caught himself looking up at the thin, white scar running along his palm, shaking his head to refocus himself as Snape strode by. From the minute he had entered the classroom, Jay had been counting the minutes until the end of the day, and so far, despite a minor incident involving Barnaby swallowing some of his incomplete potion and requiring a quick yet sneaky antidote, the day had been mostly unremarkable. Not that the day was completely uneventful, Plenty of his friends with whom he shared classes asked about the scar, but other than Rowan, the questions were dismissed, as Jay wanted to keep the events of his dream, and really the events of the entire previous weekend, out of his head today.

Glancing over to the empty seat diagonal to him, Jay scanned the pile of sorted ingredients in front of him and Rowan, and looked over at the textbook opened between them again. Jay read through the list of instructions again, asking Rowan, “Alright, so now we need to drop in the peppermint sprigs, right?”. Rowan adjusted his glasses as he read through the steps, slowly answering, “Ye- Mmmnoo… Yes. Yes we do, _‘Add the aged and measured peppermint all at once, as soon as the container is unsealed’_.”.

“I’ll go get our jar out of the closet, don’t burn what we’ve got, will you?” Jay stood up from the desk, and Rowan gave a thumbs-up, “Don’t get lost on your way over, Jay.”. Smirking and rolling his eyes, Jay strode into the small supply closet across the room from the desk and quickly fell silent as he noticed the only other occupant of the room. Grinning devilishly, Jay crept up behind the girl scanning the shelves of aging peppermint sprigs, and as he got close, he wrapped his arms around the girl’s waist, kissing the top of her head as he quietly said, “Surprise, Songbird...”. Merula whirled around, pulling out of Jay’s arms, muttering, “You utter…” Merula’s arm shot forward, her knuckles connecting just under Jay’s ribs, “...Bastard, you gave me a bloody heart attack!”. Jay doubled over, his arms around his stomach, partially from Merula’s punch, and partially from his own wheezing laughter, “So damn perfect, every time…”.

“One of these days, I’m going to launch you into the wall when you try that,” Merula threatened, before leaning in slightly to the still-wheezing Jay, “Are you actually alright?”. Jay quickly stood up straight, still wearing his impish smile, grabbing the sides of Merula’s face and pulling her into a kiss, one that was cut short as Merula pushed on Jay’s chest, hissing, “Are you mad? What if someone walked in on us?”.

“Right, I’ll save it for later,” Jay stood up, searching the shelves behind Merula for the glass jar bearing his and Rowan’s initials. Jay suddenly felt Merula’s hand close around his right wrist, and he balled the hand up to a fist, but Merula pulled his fingers back with her other hand, revealing the scar across his palm.

Merula glared at him as he turned around, angrily asking, “What the hell did you do this time, Rosewood?” Jay gave a short shrug, answering, “Cut myself shaving, nothing big.”. Merula frowned at Jay, dropping her head to the side slightly, “You could’ve at least tried to come up with something halfway convincing, Rosewood.”. Jay put his conniving grin back on as he said, “Alright, I’ll explain everything while we’re out tonight,” Jay leaned in towards Merula, continuing, “But you have to let me kiss you properly first.”. Merula took a short step back, but quickly stood up straight to face Jay, her face gaining a tinge of red as she said “This is coercion, and I won’t stand for it.”. After a moment of silence, Merula sighed, “Fine, but only once we’re out of sight, and you should know by now that lying to me is useless.”.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Songbird,” Jay walked past Merula, stepping out of the storage closet and waltzing back over to his desk. He sat down next to Rowan, who looked over to his friend as he emptied the glass jar of small green leaves into the cauldron, “Penny’s heard from around that you’re going to be making yourself scarce after classes today. Should I be worried?”. Jay sighed, “Of course Penny heard something. That girl’s intelligence network scares me, Rowan, really.”. 

“So there’s some truth to it?” Rowan reasoned, “Been a while since a rumor Penny heard about you was true. Sneaking off to talk to those people in Jacob’s room?”. Jay smirked, Rowan already knew about Merula, seeing as he shared a common room with both of them, so Jay didn’t have to lie to him, which was fortunate, since Rowan was better at picking up on Jay’s deceptions than anyone else he knew.

“I’ve been feeling bad for kinda bailing on Merula by being gone so much of last weekend, so I was going to take her up to Hogsmeade as a bit of an apology.”. Rowan feigned a hurt look, putting a hand up over his heart, “I missed you last weekend too, where’s my apology date?”. Jay rolled his eyes, “I don’t even want to picture the kind of dates you’re going to end up putting some poor soul through someday.”. 

After a few moments, Merula exited the storage closet and strode across the classroom to her part of the table she shared with Jay and Rowan, glancing up to Jay as she sat down, but quickly dropped her eyes down, silently starting through the steps of the lesson Jay and Rowan had been talking through. Jay swung his leg forward under the desk, resting the outer side of his calf against Merula’s shin, and said, “Finally made it back, did you?”. Merula rolled her eyes, “Some dolt mixed up the jars, I couldn’t find mine. What, did you miss me, Rosewood?”.

“Sure I did,” Jay shrugged, “But if your dueling is anything to go on, your aim isn't much better.”. Merula shifted her open leg around Jay’s, wrapping it around as if to say, _‘mine’_ , as she pinched the bridge of her nose, “That may very well be the worst joke I’ve ever heard from you, Rosewood.”. The three Slytherin students continued through their lesson quietly, the faint scent of peppermint slowly permeating the dank classroom as they worked. 

Some time later, Snape’s icy voice drifted from the center of the classroom, dripping with sarcasm, “It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you all that class is dismissed. Please make your exit quietly and expediently.”. Jay and Rowan stood from their desk, and as they began to pack up their things, Rowan looked up at Merula, who had already started out of the classroom, then back to Jay, saying, “So you’re sure it’s her, really?”. Jay nodded, “Yes. I’m sure I’m in love with her. You’re going to have to make peace with that, my friend.”.

* * *

Stepping out of her last class, Skylar slipped a small silver pocket watch out of her robes, and shrugged, “I’ve got time to change.”. Navigating around the castle, Skylar arrived at her room in the Hufflepuff dormitories to find that her roommate, Tonks, was lying on the bed on her side of the room, snoring away. Quietly sneaking over to the dresser next to her bed, Skylar changed out her school robes for a pair of faded jeans and a striped yellow shirt, resting on her bed for a minute before looking again at the pocket watch. Skylar dug a piece of parchment out of her bag, and scribbled a message onto it, _“Going to the archive. Be back soon.”_. Dropping the note onto her pillow, Skylar ventured back out of the Hufflepuff common room, winding her way through the castle to Jacob’s hideout.

* * *

“Eighteen... Nineteen… Twenty!” Dylan grunted, dropping down from the iron bar hanging rigidly in the air to the floor of the Archive, receiving a small golf clap from Juniper, who had been glancing up occasionally from the book in her hands to watch. Dylan tapped his hand against the floating bar, which crumbled into dust before vanishing entirely, “Confusing as it is, I’d be lying if I said this room wasn’t handy, I could make a full-fledged gym in here!”.

“Not until we figure out separate rooms, you can’t,” Juniper commented, leafing through the green book in her hands. Dylan looked down at the book in Juniper’s hands and asked, “Wouldn’t Snake be a little uncomfortable with you reading up on his life story?”. Juniper shrugged, “From my observations, there’s very little here I couldn’t have guessed by just thinking about my own memories.”. Dylan shifted in his chair, wondering if Juniper had been reading through all the books on the shelves, including his, “I dunno, it just doesn’t feel right to me. I get the idea of needing some background to make conversation, but reading everything someone’s done since their first year at school?”.

“I haven’t been _that_ thorough, Lion,” Juniper kept the ‘yet’ that belonged at the end of that sentence silent, “All I’m looking for are hints in our pasts that may indicate why we’ve found these places.”. Dylan shrugged, “I’ll leave that to you, I guess. I definitely don’t remember killing a basilisk, though.”.

The yellow door creaked open and Skylar emerged, causing Juniper to smile, standing up to replace the green book on the shelf, “Afternoon, Badger. How was your night?”. Skylar yawned, stretching her arms up over her head, “Short, after you guys left. Worked out alright, though, I needed the sleep.”. Dylan stood up as Skylar took her seat, clapping his hands together, “Alright, I kinda wish Snake was here to help me out since I was blind for a lot of what happened yesterday, but we’ll work with it.”. Dylan cracked his knuckles, trying to picture the moment he entered Jay’s world.

“Alright, let’s recap.”.

-End Chapter 14-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Hey! Sorry if this one is a little longer than my usual bits, but after the wait last time, I wanted to put a little extra into this one. As an obsucre, meta bit of foreshadowing I'm going to bet nobody who's reading will understand, this is the chapter where I switched out Crazy Noisy Bizzarre Town in my writing playlist for Chase.)


	15. -Unfamiliar Faces-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dylan treats Juniper and Skylar to some good old-fashioned recapping, while Jay attempts to give himself a moment of reprieve from the mystery of the past few days. Surprising nobody, he is unsuccessful.

“We begin…” Dylan began, pulling a white sheet down from thin air, an image of the girl’s bathroom he had visited with Snake appearing on it, “...As many great stories do, with a bathroom.”. The image flicked to the ghostly girl that Jay had spoken to, and Dylan turned a palm up toward the sheet, saying, “First was our primary informant. An apparitional associate of Snake's, by the alias of Moaning Myrtle.”. Skylar raised a hand, “Have you been practicing this? Because I don’t want to cut you off if you have.”. Dylan nodded, pointing to Skylar, “Excellent question, Badger, I did practice this a few times, but you should absolutely jump in because I’ve forgotten what comes next.”. Skylar put a hand up to her chin, “How did you guys get anything out of Myrtle? Most of what I hear from her is sobbing occasionally interrupted with wailing.”. 

“An excellent question, Badger,” Dylan snapped his fingers, before shrugging, “I have no idea. Snake seems to be on friendly terms with her, and gave me some life advice on ‘The people nobody talks to’.”. Juniper leaned back in her chair, looking up at the roof of the Archive, “The ghosts of Hogwarts likely know the history of the castle better than even the professors, the problem is getting an answer.”. Dylan tapped his thumb against the second knuckle of his index finger, and the image of Moaning Myrtle changed to a blurry mess of green and white splotches, “Of course, while Snake was investigating the bathroom, I was busy stumbling around, completely unable to see in any definition whatsoever.”. Juniper took off her glasses, scanning the Archive, and put them back on, saying, “It seems like some kind of advanced version of astigmatism or myopia, not unlike myself.”. Dylan sighed, clicking the image to a pair of thin wire-rimmed glasses, “That explains these, we found them in the chamber, and they let me see again until the room vanished.”. 

“Chamber?” Skylar asked, “You guys went somewhere other than the bathroom?”. Dylan clapped both hands together, pointing his fingertips at Skylar, “Yes and no. There was some kinda secret room in the bathroom, mostly empty, save for…” Dylan faced back to the board and clicked the image to the dead basilisk, and he continued, “...This lovely gentleman. He was dead when we found him, fortunately, but left no clues to his killer other than _this._ ”. The notebook Jay found appeared on the screen, “This notebook was the only thing in the room of note, it appeared to be sentient, speaking to Snake,” The off-white page of the journal with the word ‘Hello’ printed on it appeared on the screen. Dylan clicked his thumb again, and images of Jay tearing into the book with the rose-patterned dagger and Dylan setting it on fire appeared, “And though both Snake and I tried to destroy it, the journal would repair itself every time.”. 

“That’s not _remotely_ unsettling,” Skylar tucked her knees up to her chest, and Dylan put a hand out assuringly, saying, “Don’t worry, Badger, it gets worse.”. Dylan clicked to an image of the journal pierced by a basilisk tooth, spewing the inky black liquid, “We found a way to destroy it, but it came at a cost…” Dylan waved his fingers cryptically, switching the image again. An image of Jay and Dylan fleeing the corridor appeared, where Dylan was dressed in a brown leather jacket, dirty white undershirt, and a similarly colored sable fedora, with a leather bullwhip hanging at his belt instead of his wand. Jay’s attire had also changed, instead of the leather pants and green t-shirt and black jacket Juniper and Skylar were familiar with, he sported an open, off-white trenchcoat, and distractingly bright red fez, which he clutched as he ran just behind Dylan. Dylan deepened his voice, dramatically continuing, “Destroying the book caused the entire chamber to start collapsing, and only by our wits and our skill did we escape with our lives.”. 

Juniper frowned, “Are you sure this is accurate, Lion? I can’t help but feel you’ve exaggerated a few things.”. Dylan shrugged, crossing his arms, “I might have tried to make things a little more entertaining,” Jay and Dylan’s outfits returned to their original states, but the poses didn’t change as Dylan noted, “What came next was the part we tried to warn you about in the arena, there was this bright light that consumed the entrance, and when it vanished, my sight came back.”. Juniper leaned down onto her fist, asking, “Could you go back to the image of the basilisk? Something about it is bugging me.”. Dylan flicked back to the dead basilisk, and Juniper stood up and walked over to the screen, pointing to a point on the image, “Look at its eyes. Something took them out, violently. If this thing died, it definitely wasn’t of natural causes.”. Dylan tilted his head, “How do you figure that?”, and Juniper answered, “Even if I weren’t a studying Magizoologist, it’s pretty easy to guess that _‘Violent removal of the eyes’_ is not a natural part of the basilisk’s life cycle.”. Skylar raised a hand, “So something killed the basilisk, but didn’t stick around to loot it or even eat it? What kind of beast does that?”. 

“That’s actually something I had been thinking about for a while,” Dylan answered, “That whole chamber sorta gave me a vibe of _‘Post-Climactic-Battle’_ , like we had missed some hero venturing down to the chamber to slay the basilisk in the first place.”. Juniper snapped her fingers, and the corkboard she had visualized in class that day appeared behind her, “Now, that actually brings me to a theory I developed instead of paying attention in History of Magic today.”. Juniper flicked a picture of the glasses Dylan presented into her hand, posting to the board and saying, “Whatever happened to you, Lion, in short, may have been you and Snake entering another world, and the world attempting to ‘correct’ you into a person similar to you from that world.”. Dylan sighed, sinking into his chair, “Makes about as much sense as any other explanation…”. 

Skylar raised her hand again, “But what kind of world would stick a basilisk under Hogwarts? Wouldn’t the professors know about it? Wouldn’t someone want to deal with it as soon as possible?”. Dylan pressed his palms up to his face, “A world that isn’t our problem, at least not yet, and thank Merlin for it.”.

* * *

Far outside the Archive, in a small, snow-covered clearing just past Hogsmeade, Jay swept some snow off a fallen log, smiling as he said, “Isolated, cozy, and a great view of both the lake and the castle? I just keep getting better at finding these places…”.

“Cozy?” A scarf-muffled Merula shivered from next to him, “It’s _freezing._ How do you not feel a thing?”. Jay tugged on the neck of his jacket, “It’s my lucky jacket, this thing’s gotten me out of worse than a little winter chill.”. Merula sat down on the fallen log, and Jay leaned down to kiss her forehead, “I’ll go grab our drinks from the Broomsticks, since you insist on us not being seen together.”. Merula huffed, responding, “Rumors spread like a bad cold at this school, I’ve explained this to you, and we both have enough to worry about at the moment.”. Jay stretched his arms up over his head, “Don’t worry, I’m a master of subtlety.”.

“Hurry,” Merula urged, “Even without the snow, it’s frigid out here,” Jay smirked, slipping off his jacket and draping it over Merula’s chilled shoulders, laughing, “Try not to miss me while I’m gone.”. Merula suddenly reached up, grabbing the sides of Jay’s head and kissing him as she grinned, “Now you have to hurry, you’ll freeze for sure without a jacket.”. 

“See you in a few, Songbird,” Jay walked back up the path to Hogsmeade, the winter air immediately chilling his now-exposed arms, and he hurried his way into the familiar warmth of the Three Broomsticks. Jay waved to Madame Rosmerta, who in between weaving between tables of customers, smiled at Jay, pointing over to two mugs set on the bar, which Jay had paid for ahead of he and Merula’s arrival. Jay retrieved the mugs, and Rosmerta shouted after him as he left, “Don’t freeze out there, Jay! You’ve got to return those mugs!”. Jay raised one mug thankfully while he pushed open the door to the Broomsticks, “Have I ever forgotten them before? See you soon, Madame Rosmerta!”. Stepping out of The Three Broomsticks, Jay looked up at the cloudy sky thankful for the lack of actual snowfall and walked back down towards the path to the clearing.

* * *

On his way down the winding path, there seemed to be a thin haze, almost as though he were looking through clouded glass. Jay raised an eyebrow at the strange haze but dismissed it as something in his eye. When Jay reached the haze, however, Jay’s foot must have caught a root or a rock, and he found himself stumbling forward, barely able to jut his other foot out to stop himself from slamming into the snow below him. Jay closed his fists around the mugs in his hands, but as he stood up, he noticed his hands were closed around nothing, his fingernails digging into his palms. Jay looked around, but quickly discovered that he hadn’t dropped them in the fall, as they were nowhere in the snow around him. Snow suddenly had started drifting down, and Jay decided he would retrieve his jacket from Merula before returning to the Three Broomsticks to explain what happened. Looking down at his arms, however, he noticed a scratchy sweater had appeared on him, blocking the snowfall.

“Why does that give me a bad feeling…?” Jay muttered to himself as a low, growly voice sounded from behind him, “Hey, where are we goin’?”. Jay whipped around, spotting two thuggish-looking Slytherin students walking down the path behind him. One of the two boys spoke up as they caught up with Jay, asking, “What’s so important about this place?”. 

“I’m sorry, do we know each other?” Jay asked, and the other thuggish boy scratched behind his ear, confused, “Uh, yeah? Crabbe and Goyle? Did you hit your head or somethin’?”. Jay debated reaching for his wand, but decided, whoever these people were, Merula probably wouldn’t be happy to meet them.

“Well, Crabbe and Goyle,” Jay pointed back towards Hogsmeade behind the two boys, “I’m… meeting someone, so you’ll have to get going.”. _Dammit,_ Jay cursed himself, even if he didn’t say Merula’s name, the rumor of him sneaking off to meet someone was definitely going to attract unwanted attention. The boy named Crabbe looked at Jay, confused, before shrugging, “Alright, fine.”. The two boys walked back up the path, and Jay waited for the two to turn the corner back into Hogsmeade before making his way down to the clearing. Nearing the turn into the clearing, Jay spotted two other figures standing next to each other, and he ducked behind a nearby tree. Jay noticed the two figures were turned away from him, and he slowly crept through the trees ringing around the clearing, trying to make his way towards the log he had left Merula on. 

“Songbird? You here?” Jay whispered, sinking down low near the surface of the snow, nearing the now-vacant log, muttering to himself, “Must have seen these guys coming and made herself scarce.”. Creeping up to the log, Jay noticed both figures appeared to be a bit younger than him, and the two were facing a similar direction, as though there was a third person there. From near where he knelt, Jay could make out some kind of movement, as a third figure indeed appeared, seemingly casting off a cape or robe of some kind.

 _“Potter?”_ A snide, angry voice burst from somewhere in Jay’s head, causing him to jump, knocking his knee against the log, and the icy white cap along the log fell to the ground with a deep _-crunch-_. 

“Is someone there?” A girl’s voice asked as one of the figures turned towards the log. Jay's instincts sent his hand up to his chest for his wand but, on top of suddenly remembering that Merula had his jacket, and subsequently his wand, Jay noticed the sweater that appeared on him wasn’t built like his familiar bomber jacket, and there was no wand whatsoever holstered in the chest of Jay's new winter wear.

“Uh… No?” Jay attempted, before bolting away from his hiding spot, towards the path back to Hogsmeade. Footsteps quickly started to crunch through the snow behind him, and Jay heard the girl’s voice call from behind him, _“Immobulus!”_. Jay dropped down onto his shoulder, rolling under the jet of dark blue light that burst from behind him. 

_“Granger’s catching up, move faster!”_ The snide voice returned, and Jay scrambled up to his feet, growling, “Shut it, I know, I can hear them.”. Jay dashed down the main street of Hogsmeade to the alley that led to Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop, ducking behind the Hog’s Head, closing his eyes. Jay pressed up against the smooth stone, but a boy came bursting around the corner, his wand drawn.

 _“The Weasley’s going to call for his friends, do something!”_ Jay smacked his forehead with his palm in an attempt to shut the voice up, before pointing down the street and, before the boy could turn around, saying, “He went left!”. The boy, who Jay noticed reminded him of Charlie, turned to the left, and Jay bolted down the right side of Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, tucking behind a wooden crate left behind the flowery building. Jay dropped down low into his hiding spot as the footsteps stopped nearby, and he could make out a few voices. 

“...Had him for a minute…” A boy’s voice said, frustrated, followed by the girl’s voice, “...Can’t believe you let him give us the slip, Ron!”. “Ron?” Jay mouthed silently, Ron, the youngest Weasley, Ron? A third voice came, “We need to find him, he’s going to slip that I snuck out.”. The footsteps walked away from where Jay was hiding, and after a moment of silence, Jay rose from his hiding spot and cautiously began to make his way towards the Three Broomsticks, and the voice said _“Great, we got away, now get lost.”_.

“Okay, first off, who are you?” Jay asked as he entered the cozy tavern, aiming his eyes straight down as he stepped into an empty washroom, where the voice answered, _“Draco Malfoy, who are you?”_. Jay turned on the sink, splashing some water in his face, and responding, “Jay Rosewood. Why are you in my head, and not your own?”. The voice that called itself Draco Malfoy scoffed, _“I **am** in my head, **you’re** the one who’s not where they’re supposed to be!”_. Jay looked up into the mirror above the sink, but what greeted him wasn’t his face. A pale complexion bore lips perpetually curled into a sneer, silvery grey eyes covered on both sides by platinum blonde hair stared back at Jay as the voice continued.

_“What are you doing in my body?”_

-End Chapter 15-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Hoo boy, here we go. I know this isn't as long as what I usually update with, but I hope it makes up for it in plot progression!)
> 
> (As always, if there's somewhere I can improve or something you liked, let me know, and thanks for reading! If for some reason you want to talk more about what I do here, or you're just sick of waiting for me to update and want to harass me personally, you can find me here: [Tumblr](https://jmax523.tumblr.com/))


	16. -Out Of Place-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay starts to get a feel for his new situation, getting a better image of his involuntary companion. His absence also quickly begins to send shockwaves throughout his friends and selves in the world he vanished from.

It didn’t take Jay long to realize how much he didn’t enjoy being Draco Malfoy. Trying to wave goodbye to Madame Rosmerta with his usual friendly smile made his lips hurt, like he was flexing muscles that hadn’t been used in years. Even the looks he got on his way out of Hogsmeade were particularly unfriendly, even to him, who was used to his house colors painting an emerald target on his back. Walking towards the bridge back to Hogwarts, Jay sighed as another group of second-years huddled closer together as he went by, “You’ve got some reputation, Draco.”. 

_“They know who’s in charge around here, and they’re wise to act appropriately,”_ Draco scoffed, and Jay frowned, “I think they’re just getting out of a bully’s way. Does everyone act like this around you?”. Draco huffed, “Of course not, plenty of my fellow Slytherin are valuable allies to me!”. 

“Do you even hear yourself talk sometimes?” Jay asked, wrapping his hands around the back of his neck as he walked down the bridge, “You’re, like, fourteen. Shouldn’t you be more worried about girls and exams than your political standing among your peers?”.

 _“Well, **you’re** only sixteen,”_ Draco retorted, _“Where do you get off judging me?”_. Jay groaned, “I’ve been in your body for maybe half an hour now, and it’s already very obvious you have the second-worst reputation I’ve ever seen on someone in all my years at Hogwarts, and at least number one has some dueling skill behind it.”.

 _“Why couldn’t I have gotten them in my body?”_ Draco lamented, _“They sound far more pleasant. Then again, I’ve half a mind to think anyone would be more bearable to share a body with.”_.

Before Jay could retort, his distraction bickering with Draco caused him to bump into a girl walking in the opposite direction, knocking the magazine in her hands to the ground.

 _“Smooth,”_ Draco snickered, but Jay ignored him as he leaned down to pick up the brightly-colored magazine, saying to the blonde-haired girl, “My bad, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”. Jay wiped as much of the flecks of dirt and snow off the magazine as he could, before handing it back to the girl in Ravenclaw robes in front of him. Jay smirked at the bizarre glasses on the girl’s face, again straining muscles clearly unfamiliar with such an expression, “Sorry about that, mate, hope you didn’t lose your spot.”.

Jay stepped past the Ravenclaw girl, noticing the distant, dreamy on her face as he walked by. Continuing down the bridge, Jay asked, “Friend of ours?” Draco laughed, _“Friend of no one, more like, that’s Loony Luna.”_. Rolling his eyes as he entered the castle, Jay muttered, “Luna, then. She seemed plenty nice to me. If some weird glasses are what passes for loony around here nowadays, the rest of the students must be dreadfully boring.”.

 _“Oh, plenty of our classmates are dreadful, Jay,”_ Draco bitterly assured, adding as Jay reached the dungeons, _“Password is ‘Superior’.”_. 

“Of course it is…” Jay sighed, speaking the password to the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room, and stepping through the open painting into the familiarly cold, dank room.

* * *

Elsewhere, inside another Slytherin Common Room, Rowan Khanna and Ismelda Murk were leaning over opposite ends of a chessboard, and next to them Barnaby Lee was buried in his Care of Magical Creatures textbook, silent save for the slow shifting of a chess piece, or turn of a page. This post-classes quiet was suddenly broken by the opening of the door to the common room, followed by the rapid footsteps of Merula Snyde, her face buried in her arm, towards the girl’s dormitories. All three Slytherin paused, and Barnaby, after a moment of silence, stated, “That looked like Merula.”.

“Was she crying?” Rowan asked, but his chess partner had already stood up, and Ismelda was already halfway to the dormitories, saying as she walked away, “Don’t touch the board.”. 

Inside the girl’s dormitories, Ismelda pushed open the door to her and Merula’s shared room, and before she could even step inside, she was greeted with a muffled, “Go away,” from Merula’s bed. 

“It’s just as much my room as yours, Merula,” Ismelda answered, closing the door behind her, and looking over to Merula, curled up in her bed, facing away from Ismelda, “What’s got you back so early? I thought you had a date.”. Ismelda sat down at the foot of the bed, “...Did something happen?”. 

“...No,” Merula sniffed, turning her head away from Ismelda “Nothing happened. Nothing at all.”. Ismelda leaned back to see Merula’s face, her expression quickly turning murderous as she saw her friend’s red-ringed eyes and nose, “He didn’t.”. Ismelda leaned over Merula, wrapping her arms around her friend, “I’m so sorry, Merula. That little-”.

“I was an idiot…” Merula shuddered, fighting back tears, “I can’t believe I actually thought he- he…” Merula pulled her chin further down into her chest, pulling her knees further up towards her face and wrapping the black jacket around her shoulders around her legs.

In the Common Room proper, Barnaby’s studying of the textbook in his hands and Rowan’s studying of the chessboard were interrupted by Ismelda storming out of her and Merula’s dormitory, grimly asking Rowan, “Where. is. Rosewood?”. Rowan stood up from the couch, asking, “I… thought he was on a date, same as you. Why?”. Ismelda swept her wand out of her robes, “I’m going to tear that smug scum limb from limb, that’s why. Do you have any idea what he did?”. Barnaby stood up, placing his book open facedown on the couch, “Uh… no? Is it why Merula’s upset?”. 

“I trusted Rosewood with one thing, Khanna, and that was Merula’s heart,” Ismelda spat, “And he dragged her out into the snow and ditched her! How can you possibly call someone who would do something like that your friend?”. Rowan threw up his hands into a T-shape, “Wait a moment. You can’t seriously expect me to believe Jay would stand Merula up! As much as I think he’s an idiot for it, he loves that girl more than Barnaby loves animals.”.

“That’s a lot…” Barnaby said, “But then, why’s Merula so sad?”. 

“Because that’s exactly what happened!” Ismelda answered, “That little rat thinks he’s got more important things to do than spend time with the best person in his crummy life!”. 

“Hey!” Rowan complained, and Ismelda turned to march out of the common room, but Barnaby quickly reached out to stop her, putting a hand on her shoulder. With his other hand, Barnaby scratched the top of his head, saying, “Look, maybe something happened that he couldn’t control. We should at least try and talk to him ourselves.”. Ismelda whirled around, grabbing Barnaby’s wrist, “That slobbering dog broke Merula’s heart, and now you want to hear his side? What the hell is wrong with you two!”.

“Look, how about this,” Rowan walked over next to Barnaby, “Let’s find him and figure out what happened, and if it turns out he stood up Merula, we’ll all kick the shit out of him together, okay?”. Ismelda paused for a moment, eventually caving, sighing, “Fine. We’ll go talk to him.”.

* * *

“That seems to be the extent of our knowledge,” Juniper stood back from a massive board, covered in crisscrossed lines of multicolored thread and pictures pinned all across. 

“These places we found are places where other worlds seem to leak into our own, seemingly without connection to time or place, save for the fact that, as far as we know, they are localized to the Hogwarts grounds.”. Dylan yawned, “Don’t forget about the changin’, Whenever we go in these, we get shaped and shifted to look more like someone from whatever world crossed over with ours.”. Skylar pressed her hands up to her forehead, “And something is wrong, too. Like a challenge or objective that needs to be completed, and once you fix it, the place vanishes.”.

“If we had Snake’s perspective, he might have something more we can build off of,” Dylan suggested, and Skylar nodded, “Maybe there’s something he saw that can clue us into why this is happening, and if it’s happening to anyone other than the four of us.”.

“It’s still probably late afternoon around there, I could go snag him,” Skylar suggested, and Dylan stood up, “I’m down with that, he saw more of that place than me, too.”. Juniper shook her head, “Don’t you two remember why Snake is busy? He has a date, I can’t imagine he’d be pleased if you showed up to pull him away.”.

“Eh, it’s a date with Merula Snyde,” Dylan waved a hand dismissively, “If his Merula is anything like the one I know, she’s not gonna care, and might even be happy we’re gettin’ him away from her.”. Juniper considered a rebuttal, thinking about how her own Merula would react, but after a moment of consideration, answered, “I… suppose I don’t know Snake’s Merula. It may be worth an attempt, with the potential reward of figuring out an answer.”.

“That’s the spirit!” Dylan cheered, “Okay, has anyone been to Snake’s world?”. Skylar raised her hand, “I saw Jacob’s room? It looked about the same, so I think the rest of his Hogwarts does.”. 

“Then let’s get goin’! We’re losin’ sunlight the longer we’re in here,” Dylan strode over to Snake’s door, pushing it open and stepping through, Juniper and Skylar following close behind.

* * *

Inside Jacob’s room, the three confirmed that it was nearly identical to the dust-choked, claustrophobic, paper-strewn room that all their own brothers had left for them. Before the three could get their bearings, a girl’s voice angrily came from outside the room, “...hiding in here, I swear to Merlin…”. 

_“Hide!”_ Skylar urgently whispered, and the three dashed around the small room to find places to shield themselves. Dylan threw the door behind him open, scrambling back through and shutting it behind him, Juniper crouched down behind a stack of dusty books, and Skylar dropped low behind a pillar, pressing her back up against the stone.

“Rosewood!” The same voice, one that Skylar and Juniper both recognized as Ismelda Murk, demanded, “Get out here and explain yourself!”. The footsteps entered the room, eventually crossing the pillar Skylar was hiding behind.

“What the-” was all Ismelda managed to get out before Juniper whirled to her feet, flicking her wand out of her robes and jabbing it into Ismelda’s back as she muttered, _“Immobulus.”._ Skylar jumped to her feet, spotting two other people behind Ismelda, causing her to knock on the green door, and Dylan stepped back out through the door. 

Skylar drew her wand as she stood, and Dylan fumbled for his when he saw the others in the room, but the first boy behind Ismelda Juniper recognized too late as Rowan was faster, flicking his wand out at Skylar, commanding, _“Petrificus Totalus!”_. The bolt of gray light came out too quickly for Skylar to react, and Dylan was forced to catch Skylar as her arms and legs snapped together, and she toppled backward like a statue. 

_“Stupefy!”_ Juniper called, but Jay’s Rowan was seemingly much more accustomed to dueling than Juniper’s, as he quickly jerked to the side, sending the bolt of scarlet light careening into Barnaby Lee, who had been standing behind him. Barnaby crumpled down to the ground, and Rowan cracked his wand like a whip at the occupied Dylan as he called, _“Immobulus!”_. The light blue spell caught Dylan in the side, and he froze holding the petrified Skylar. 

Juniper leaped out from behind the boxes, spinning on her heel as she approached Rowan, extending her arm out as she faced her again, and when she stopped, she saw the tip of Rowan’s wand pointed squarely between her eyes, and her own wand aimed similarly at him.

“Where’s Jay?” Jay’s Rowan asked, his voice steely and cold, a tone Juniper rarely heard from her own Rowan. 

“We came to ask you all the same thing, if you can believe it,” Juniper answered, steeling her own voice to match Rowan’s intensity. 

“What would you want with Jay?” Rowan demanded, his wand still fixed on Juniper.

“What do _you_ want with him?” Juniper’s hand tensed around her wand, prepared to strike at the slightest movement.

“None of your business why we’re looking for him.”.

“Likewise.”.

The two students stared each other down for several moments, their wands barely moving, each one silently daring the other to move.

“Raven,” Juniper said, and Rowan blinked, “You’re Raven?”.

“I am.”.

“...Dammit all,” Rowan pulled his wand up and away from Juniper, “And here I was thinking you were another person to put on the list of people that wanted him dead.”.

“You three are looking for Jay as well?” Juniper asked as she directed her wand back down to her side, and Rowan nodded, walking over to Barnaby and drawing a small circle in the air with his wand, “Yeah, but we’ve scoured the school, and there hasn’t been a trace of him. _Episkey_.”. Barnaby slowly picked himself up, and Rowan hoisted one of the large boy’s arms over his shoulder. 

“How odd. We are searching for Jay because we believe he may be able to assist us in our investigation,” Juniper walked over to the petrified Skylar and Dylan, twice repeating as she flicked her wand again, _“Finite Incantatem.”_. Skylar unfroze, pulling herself off of Dylan, and Dylan dropped his arms to his side, muttering, “Lucky shot…”. 

Rowan strode over to the petrified Ismelda, commenting, “That was impressive, keeping the gesture small to avoid missing.”. Juniper nodded, “Speed and accuracy are skills I have been taught many times, though I clearly have room to pick up the pace.”.

“That dodge?” Rowan clarified, “That was nothing, just something I learned sparring with Jay. You should see _him_ duel, it’s one of the few things he excels at.”. 

_“Finite Incantatem,”_ Rowan tapped his wand on Ismelda’s head, freeing her as Juniper asked, “Is he particularly adept, then?”. Rowan shook his head, “Moves like a snake, attacks like a rabid dog… Feels like I’m watching a completely different person. One of the only things I can’t tutor him in is dueling.”.

“I bet I could take him,” Dylan commented, and Rowan rolled his eyes, “I admire your confidence.”. Turning back to Juniper, Rowan crossed his arms, Unfortunately, I can’t help you guys much finding Jay, we’ve looked everywhere but Hogsmeade, and we were headed there next.”.

“Why don’t we come with you?” Skylar offered as the freed Ismelda stood up, who responded, “Maybe you should. It’d be nice to have some extra hands to help beat an answer out of Rosewood with.”.

“Uh, why are we beating up Snake?” Dylan asked, and Juniper clarified to a confused Rowan, “He means Jay. We’ve been using codenames in the event we need to protect our identities.”.

“We think he stood up Merula,” Barnaby answered from the back, still woozy from Juniper’s attack, “Well, Ismelda does, Rowan and I want to hear his story first.”.

“Standing someone up? I don’t think that’s what happened. Certainly not my style,” Dylan cupped his arms around the back of his neck, and Skylar added, “Yeah, I wouldn’t ever do that, even if it was with Merula!”.

“...Are you going to explain why that matters?” Ismelda asked, and Juniper waved a hand, “I can. Since the three of us and Jay are likely the same person and all share similar core characteristics, it’s doubtful that something like what you’ve been led to believe is truly the case.”.

“I’m not even going to ask what that means,” Ismelda groaned, “Even if I _could_ believe that you three and Jay are the same person, it’s not like Jay dropped off the face of the earth, he bailed on my best friend to go _somewhere_.”. Skylar clapped a few times to call attention to herself, repeating, “Hey, why don’t we just poke around Hogsmeade for him? We've still got two or three hours left in the afternoon, and with six of us, it’ll be really easy!”.

“Fine,” Ismelda conceded, “But don’t get lost. I’ll abandon you without hesitation or regret.”.

* * *

On their way out of Hogwarts, Juniper paused, tapping on Rowan’s shoulder.

“Yeah, what’s going on, Raven?” Rowan asked, and Juniper rubbed her shoulder, “I believe, as a metaphorical partial facsimile of Jay, I may be able to explain some of what happened to Merula, can you bring her out here, or allow me into the common room?”.

“...Technically no,” Rowan answered, “Practically…” Rowan turned to the other four, saying, “I’m taking Raven on a short detour, we’ll catch up!”. Barnaby waved, and Rowan turned back, “Let’s go.”.

Sneaking through the Slytherin common room, Juniper and Rowan arrived at the entrance to Merula and Ismelda’s dormitory, and Rowan quietly said, “Look, I don’t know how close you are with your Merula, but try not to let it screw with what you say here.”. Juniper nodded, “Of course. I simply want to try and assure her as best I can, minimize possible emotional damage and such.”. Rowan knocked on the door, speaking through it, “You’ve got a guest, Merula. Wants to talk to you about what’s going on.”. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a bloodshot-eyed, exhausted-looking Merula wrapped in a black bomber jacket, who looked up at Juniper. 

There was a moment, and Merula seemed to do a double-take, looking up at Juniper, quietly saying, “Jay…?”.

* * *

“Merula?” Jay asked, staring down at the girl standing in the doorway to Draco’s dormitory, her image was fuzzy, seemingly cutting in and out like a TV with poor reception, but distinctly Merula. 

“What are you-” Jay stepped forward towards Merula, but the image vanished as he moved.

“No, no…” Jay rapidly shook his head, stepping back outside, but the image didn’t return. 

“Please, Merula, come on, she was right there…” Jay begged the empty doorway as he stepped in and out, but eventually, Draco’s voice appeared, _“She’s gone, that’s it. Now go inside, you’re making us look mad.”_. Slowly, Jay stepped back through the doorway one more time, still stunned by the sudden image, “She was right there… I could see her…”. 

_“And now you can’t,”_ Draco snapped, _“Get over it. Less hallucinating and more going to sleep, if you would.”_.

“It wasn't a hallucination,” Jay insisted as he sat down on the bed, “It was the girl I love. Whatever that was, I’m going to find her, Draco. I’m going to find my way home.”.

* * *

“Merula?” Juniper asked, and the Slytherin girl rubbed her eyes. She could swear she saw Jay standing right where this girl had been, but he had vanished. 

“Yeah, yeah. You just… looked like someone…” Merula quietly answered, “Look, whatever Khanna brought you down here for, I’m not really looking for visitors.”.

“I’m here on Jay’s behalf, Blackbird,” Juniper explained, and Merula paused at the name, leaning further out the door to look Juniper over again. 

“Who are you?” Merula asked, and Juniper awkwardly smiled, scratching the back of her neck.

“That may take some explaining, I’m afraid.”.

-End Chapter 16-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Oof, this one got a little long, my bad. As well, just to clear a bit of air, the reason these updates are so few and far between is that I am splitting my time with both school, writing this, and another ongoing work that I'm trying to complete at a reasonable pace. My current strategy has been to publish one chapter of that story, then one chapter of this one, alternating as I update them. Just a bit of explanation for anyone who might have been curious.)
> 
> (As always, thanks for coming by, and let me know if there's somewhere I can improve, or something you particularly enjoyed!)


	17. -A Snake's Dream-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In their new shared mind, Jay and Draco finally meet in person, but before they can start properly introducing themselves, a familiar visitor arrives to push Jay in the right direction, and maybe threaten both boy's lives while they're at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Minor timeline retcon. Trust me, things just work better now.

Jay’s dreams had very quickly become his least favorite part of sleeping. In the rare nights where he found his sleep interrupted, his dreams seemed to keep getting less and less pleasant as the years went on. Images of the multitude of times he’s faced his own death were common sights, in particular the guardians of the vaults. Tonight, though, Jay would much rather be forced to face down one of these vicious beasts than his current dreamscape companion in the nearly-empty black void that was tonight’s dream, save for two odd bookshelves.

“At least the Ice Knight didn’t have a superiority complex…” Jay muttered, rolling his eyes at Draco, who paid the gesture in kind. Jay, now in his own body, walked over to the two wooden bookshelves that were the only features of the inky black dreamscape. Just like the bookshelves in the Archive, they were lined with green, leather-bound books with Jay and Draco’s names written along the spines. 

“So this is what you look like?” Draco sneered from behind Jay, “Well, at least I can count myself lucky that only your mind carried over to my body.”. 

“Right, because of the two of us, the one whose face is barely capable of smiling is the looker,” Jay smirked, and he reached for one of the books on his shelf, flicking it open. 

“What the hell are you, anyway?” Draco asked, circling to the other side of the bookshelves, “Normal people don’t just pop into someone else’s head and take over.”. 

“Normal people also don’t just let random people into their heads, Draco, you should be more careful,” Jay sarcastically answered, “You’re lucky I’m not some kind of nutter, or you’d be in real trouble.”.

“Oh, don’t you worry,” Draco replied in an equally bitter tone, “Even if you were a Dark Wizard, you wouldn’t have gotten far into Hogwarts anyway.”. 

“Security’s that tight, huh?” Jay turned the page in his book as Draco answered, “Not in the slightest, but as soon as you stepped foot inside the castle, Potter or one of his friends would accidentally lean on a pillar and crush us both with it.”.

“Sounds like a lucky kid,” Jay mused, and Draco scoffed from behind the bookshelf, “Luck’s all he is, and it’s all he’ll ever be. In a fair fight, I could wipe the floor with him.”. Jay could swear he once heard Merula say the same thing about him, and gave a quiet chuckle, continuing, “Does that mean you’ve taken him on in an unfair fight before?”.

“It’s what he makes _every_ fight,” Draco complained, and Jay got a feeling that even if he hadn’t said anything, Draco would have kept talking anyway as he listed, “If he’s not bringing backup, then he’s invisible, or he’s a bloody _Parselmouth_ out of nowhere…”. 

“So Potter was one of the kids we ran from in Hogsmeade?” Jay remembered a student appearing out of thin air in the small clearing, and Draco quickly corrected, “ _You_ ran from. Yes, that was Potter, Weasley, and the Mud-”. 

Draco never even saw Jay step around the bookshelves, but his voice was suddenly cut off as Jay seemingly appeared in front of him, and closed a fist around the neck of his robes, forcing him to his toes as he yanked up on Draco’s shirt.

“You _really_ don’t want to finish that sentence,” Jay growled, his suddenly furious expression reminding Draco of an angry dog, “Potter, Weasley, and… Granger, wasn’t it? You said her name back in Hogsmeade.”. 

“Granger, yeah,” Draco hurriedly agreed, and Jay released his shirt, dropping Draco back down onto his heels. Jay crossed his arms over his chest, looking up at the bookshelf behind Draco, “I’ve heard enough of that blood talk from people I couldn’t tell to shut it, I’m not hearing it from some sniveling kid.”.

“You really did grow up like dear old dad, huh?” Jay asked, “I guess one pep talk doesn’t make you a better person.”. 

“What are you talking about?” Draco shot, “You’ve never met my father, and how would you know what I was like growing up?”.

“It’s a long story, Draco, trust me,” Jay sighed, “Me ‘n Songbird were your babysitters one time back when your pop conducted a surprise inspection of my Hogwarts, so yeah, I know what you used to be like.”. 

“Inspection of Hogwarts…” Draco searched his memory, at first, finding nothing, but eventually, a flickering image appeared in his mind, torn books, an angry-looking girl with ratty brown hair, and his father’s wand. Memories of things that had never happened to him, but as he thought, the details became more and more clear.

“Rosewood,” Draco whispered, looking up at Jay, “...My father never conducted an inspection like that, and yet… I remember it.”. Draco reached down for his wand, raising it into his dueling stance, “What are you playing at? These memories aren’t real, I know it! And yet...”.

 **“Oh, we assure you, Malfoy, they are very real indeed,”** two voices echoed through the dream, and Jay and Draco whipped around to face the new voice, **“They simply aren’t yours”**.

Spotting the hooded figure slowly approaching them, Jay took a step forward, sliding his wand out of the holster sewn in his jacket. Main started to slowly clap, stopping about fifteen feet from Jay, now standing slightly in front of Draco. 

**“You are quite the prodigy, Jay Rosewood,”** Main applauded, **“Not one day since you arrived here and you’ve already made more progress than we ever have.”**. As Main talked, Draco slowly walked up next to Jay, narrowing his eyes at Main, whispering, “That voice…”.

 **“But you are not done, our test is not yet complete.”**.

Jay drew back into his dueling stance, growling, “Your test? _You’re_ the reason I’m here?”. Main cocked his hooded head, **“Indeed we are. Do you plan to take revenge on us?”**. Jay gritted his teeth, “Watch me. Are you in, Draco?”. Draco stepped back, slightly behind Jay, “...Why don’t we just wake up? This is just a dream… right?”. Reaching up for his hood, Main laughed, the more human, boyish voice laughing louder than the other, **“Of course, Malfoy. A dream… none of this is real…”**. Main held their hand closed around the brim of their hood for a moment before a pearly white smile became visible under it, **“...Best not to spoil the surprise… but why not have a little fun?”**. 

With impossible speed, Main whipped a wand out from their cloak, the two voices calling as they swiped it through the air, **_“Petrificus Totalus!”_**. The light blue bolt of the spell caught Draco squarely in the chest, and his limbs snapped together, sending him tumbling to the ground.

While Main’s wand was pointed away, Jay rushed the hooded wizard, pulling a small clasp in his jacket, sending the dagger in this jacket down a tube-like pocket woven into the sleeve of his jacket, dropping the rose-wrapped hilt of the blade into his free palm. Before Jay could cast his own spell, one of Main’s eyes shifted towards him, and the hand not holding a wand dove back into Main’s cloak. Jay dropped down and rolled over his shoulder, landing in a crouch facing Main, but as he looked up, he saw a second wand aimed directly between his eyes, and Main laughed, _**“Petrificus Totalus.”**_. 

**“A valiant effort, Rosewood…”** Main complimented, the two voices now even again, **“But wizards such as yourself stopped being a threat to us a long time ago...”**.

 **“The others are looking for you, did you know that?”** Main strode over to where Jay was petrified, and the boy’s voice immediately took over, completely drowning out the other as Main spat, **“Not that we know why. You’re the worst kind of hero. Everyone you love is willing to die for you, did you know that?”**. Main crouched close to Jay’s head, continuing, **“And you’re going to let them. Everyone you love will die protecting you, and you’re going to let them, because you’re the hero. You’re supposed to live.”**.

 **“You’d think they would know that. Your friends, Khanna, Haywood, Lee, or that lovely girlfriend of yours, you’d think they would know hanging around you is a death sentence.”**. Main flicked both of their wands over Jay, muttering one spell immediately after the other, **_“Finite Incantatem, Incarcerous.”_**. Tens of magical ropes wound themselves around Jay, and he started to struggle to free himself as soon as his petrification faded. As he fought the ropes, Jay furiously snarled at Main, “You lay a goddamned finger on a single one of them, I’ll rip you apart with my bare hands, you bastard.”.

 **“You should wake up, Rosewood,”** Main stood, **“You’ve got to get home.”**.

Main lifted one leg over Jay’s head, letting it hover over Jay’s head for a brief moment, before quickly slamming their heel onto Jay’s nose. The last thing Jay heard was the sickening crunch of bone and cartilage giving way to Main’s boot.

* * *

Jay and Draco jerked awake in bed, and after a brief quiet as the two boy’s brain’s caught up, Jay reeled back, clasping Draco’s hands over Draco’s nose as it was consumed with searing pain, blood immediately starting to pour from both nostrils. 

Reaching over for Draco’s wand, set on the bedside desk, Jay flicked it at the shattered nose, muttering through the river of blood starting to run past his lips, _“Episkey”_. Draco’s nose flashed hot, then cold, then numb again as the blood flow stopped. 

_“There’s a handkerchief in the third drawer of the dresser, bottom left,”_ Draco offered, _“Get this blood off us before it dries.”_.

Digging out the small, folded, dark green cloth, Jay wiped as much of the blood off his nose and upper lip as he could, before dropping back down into the bed, looking over at the clock also set on the bedside table.

“‘Bout an hour before I usually get up for class. Want to try going back to sleep?”. 

_“I don’t think I’m ever going to go to sleep again.”._

Jay rubbed his eyes, silently agreeing with Draco. Looking at his hands, he tried to push the dream out of his head by thinking about home. His friends were looking for him, but how would they know where to look? Would they end up here, in someone’s body, as he did? 

_“I hope not,”_ Draco commented on Jay’s musings, _“You’re plenty of trouble already.”_. Rolling his eyes, Jay thought about his housemates, the ones with whom he shared a house. Ismelda’s already written him off for dead, that he knew for sure, joking to himself, “...Probably trying to set Merula up with someone already.”.

 _“She_ could _do a lot better,”_ Draco added, _“Granted, that’s not a very high bar to meet.”_. 

“That, we agree on,” Jay nodded, thinking about Barnaby and Rowan. They were probably holding out hope, Jay figured, Barnaby was just too positive to immediately jump to the hopeless conclusion.

 _“Or too thick,”_ Draco snarked, _“He’s an idiot, isn’t he?”_.

“He’s got his own way of thinking,” Jay defended, “Sometimes it’s a helluva lot smarter than the way _I_ usually approach problems.”.

Rowan definitely knew Jay was still alive, that was something he was sure of. If the last six years had taught Rowan anything, Jay figured it was that his best friend was a lot harder to kill than most people would think, and some people would like.

“I’m going to gag if you keep this up, start thinking about people you hate before I throw up,” Draco demanded, but Jay did not oblige, instead sadly starting to think about the last of his three closest fellow Slytherin. 

Jay looked down at his stomach, thinking about the large, jagged scar that, while not on Draco’s body, was the most prominent mark on Jay’s own. A claw strike from an out-of-control Chiara, one of Jay’s friends back home, a Hufflepuff, an aspiring Healer, and a werewolf.

Jay laid back on Draco’s bed, remembering when Merula came to visit him after his battle with Chiara. His memories of the night itself were fuzzy, something Jay believed was caused by spending a large portion of that night missing large quantities of blood. 

_“You really have a knack for grievous injury, don’t you?”_ Draco scoffed, and Jay laughed, “Call it part of my charm.”. 

He did remember two things from Merula’s visit the morning he recovered. The first was also _a_ first, their first kiss, it was small, sudden, not lasting more than half a second, and likely didn’t help that one half of it was still not far from death’s door, but to Jay, perfect. As Jay remembered it, he could hear Draco mocking gagging sounds. The second memory was that of a promise: “No more scars. No more getting killed trying to play the hero.”.

Jay didn’t know whether being flung into another dimension counted as dying, but he hoped Merula could feel him thinking about her. Jay considered himself a lot of things, he broke rules, he probably enjoyed dueling an unhealthy amount, and, left unattended, his consumption rate of Sugar Quills bordered on lethal dosages. But his word was sacred, and the people he loved, even more so.

 _“That’s the cheesiest thing you’ve thought all night,”_ Draco declared.

Jay chuckled, “I made her a promise, and I’m going to keep it. I know you’ll be sad to see me go, but I have a world to save.”.

 _“Does that involve hexing the hell out of that guy in the hood from our dream?”_ Draco asked, and Jay shrugged, “If it doesn’t, I’ll find a way to make it.”.

Jay rolled out of the bed as his internal clock rousted him properly, yawning. Stretching up, he sat down onto the bed, rubbing his eyes with his fists again. Opening his eyes, however, he wasn’t sitting on Draco’s bed anymore. The cool stone of the courtyard fountain was below him, and his head suddenly felt heavy. Looking around, the courtyard was empty, but a boy’s voice came from nearby, asking, “Malfoy?”.

Then, as soon as it appeared, the vision vanished, and Jay was back in Draco’s dormitory. Sighing, Jay stood up, and Draco groaned, _“Do I even bother to ask if you know what that was?”_.

“No clue, but tonight, we’ll find out, I suppose,” Jay confirmed, “But for now, we have to get to class.”.

* * *

Gathered in the Archive, three students jolted up from their chairs. After an unsuccessful investigation, the three students had thought they would be working short a member, but the strange vision altered that plan.

“The courtyard, you guys saw that, right?” Skylar asked, and Dylan nodded, “Sitting on the edge of the fountain, alone, and then a voice.”.

“A half-moon,” Juniper noted, “That’s only a few days from now.”. 

“I guess that puts the mourning on hold,” Skylar deduced, “Where should we wait?”. Dylan shrugged, “Were you guys alone on the fountain, too?”. Juniper nodded, “I was, were you, Badger?” Skylar gave a thumbs-up, “Me too. I guess we can’t wait in the same world, since we can’t sit alone all three of us together.”.

“Well, I hope that wasn’t just a mass hallucination,” Dylan laughed, “Otherwise I might feel a little weird sitting out on the fountain alone tonight.”. Juniper nodded, “We all will. For now, though, we have classes to get to, correct?”.

“Yeah, see you guys tonight? I think?” Skylar guessed as she stood up, and Juniper nodded, “Hopefully we will be seeing all four of us tonight.”.

* * *

Chuckling, Main dismissed the image, **“The bait has been taken, and the four are moving into position.”**.

It was time for the test.

-End Chapter 17-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I wrote this chapter in its entirety at three A.M. while listening to the DMC 5 soundtrack, I don't know how it's impacted the quality, but I'm certain it has. Sorry if that change was a net loss. If it wasn't, then cheers, I suppose, probably doesn't make it any healthier. I've also broken my upload pattern the minute I tried to set it in stone, so aces on that, Jmax.)
> 
> (As always, thanks for coming by, and let me know if there's somewhere I can improve, or something you particularly enjoyed!)


	18. -Have You Seen This Snake?-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dylan and Skylar arrive in Hogsmeade to search for their missing Slytherin ally, and Juniper offers some emotional counseling to an alternate-universe double of her girlfriend, who happens to be currently emotionally distressed over her boyfriend, who is an alternate-universe version of Juniper.
> 
> This isn't going to get any easier to follow, is it?

The town of Hogsmeade was quiet that afternoon, when five Hogwarts students strode down the main street, a wide spectrum of emotions painted across their faces. From anger to curiosity, to general confusion and deep contemplation, the three Slytherin, one Gryffindor, and one Hufflepuff stopped at the entrance to a small pass through the woods not far from the three broomsticks.

“Okay, according to student eyewitnesses, this is where Jay was last seen,” Dylan stated, “Let’s see what we can find.”. 

“We should split up,” Skylar suggested, “We’ll be able to cover more ground in less time. Who’s with who?”. Dylan nodded, “I’ll search this area for any trace Jay might have left, you should go ask around if anyone saw what happened.”.

“I can help you with that,” Rowan walked up next to Skylar, “If anyone in Hogsmeade saw Jay today, it was Madam Rosemerta.”. Skylar nodded, “Alright, let’s go! Lion, let us know if you three find something important?”. Dylan gave a thumbs-up, “On it! Barnaby, Ismelda, let’s get to work!”.

“I want it on record that I’m only doing this so Merula gets some closure.” Ismelda sniped as Skylar and Rowan walked away, “How do you even plan on finding anything useful?”.

“Ah, you see, Ismelda…” Dylan assured, his voice slowly becoming more regal-sounding, as though he were mimicking a fictional detective, “...Though we differ in house, Snake and I, as well as the others, share a proclivity for sleuthing.”.

“So you’re just as incompetent as he is?” Ismelda smirked, “This should be fun to watch.”. Dylan sighed, “Oh, ye of little faith,” before snapping up, placing his hands up by his head as he grinned, “Observe, my superior deductive mind at work.”.

Scanning the snowy trail, Dylan spotted a set of footprints leading down the mountain, and cried out, “Eureka! Already, a critical clue appears! You see these, my skeptical sidekick?”.

“Tracks?” Barnaby asked, and Dylan wagged a finger, crossing his other arm over his chest, as though he were holding an invisible pipe, “Not just any tracks, dear boy, _human_ tracks.”. 

“Human footprints can only mean one thing, my boy!” Dylan declared, pausing repeatedly through his following sentence, “They mean... that at some point... someone… was somewhere nearby...”.

Both boys were too caught up in their investigations to hear Ismelda’s palm connect with her face.

* * *

The inside of the Three Broomsticks was exactly as warm and inviting as Skylar remembered her own as, the crowd as bustling and chattering as it always was. 

“Let’s pull up a table,” Rowan suggested, scanning the crowd of people, “We can try and talk to Madame Rosmerta when she comes by.”. 

Rowan and Skylar weaved through the Three Broomsticks, and Skylar couldn’t seem to take her eyes away from Rowan as they sat down. Save for the shorter hair and slightly more masculine features, the Rowan that sat down across the table from Skylar was a dead ringer for her late best friend. Rowan must have noticed Skylar’s staring, because he shifted uncomfortably in his chair, aiming his gaze away from Skylar as he said, “This is… weird. I’m already not good at small talk, and this… isn’t helping.”. 

Skylar laughed quietly, dropping her gaze down to the table, “You’re telling me.”. Rowan smiled, shifting his glasses, “I suppose you’ve been the one talking to yourself.”. 

“Out of curiosity, actually, how different is your Rowan to me?” Rowan asked, “You seem to be a little more composed than Jay is sometimes, and I’m wondering if my protective instincts carried over.”.

“My Rowan?” Skylar repeated, shifting her eyes around the Three Broomsticks, “Well, it’s… they’re… different. It’s a bit jarring, to be honest.”. Rowan laughed, “That bad, huh? Do I dare ask for any specifics?”. Skylar’s voice dropped and her smile faded as she answered, “...I really don’t think you’ll want to hear it, Ro.”. 

“Well now I’m _really_ curious,” Rowan leaned in slightly, “Come on, hit me, I can take it, it’s still me we’re talking about, right?”. Skylar crossed her arms on the table, scratching the wooden top as she debated how to answer.

In the end, Skylar decided on the truth.

* * *

“I don’t know how he loves me,” Merula sighed, hiding her hands in the pockets of Jay's jacket as she walked through Hogwarts alongside Juniper, “I’ve been so awful to him. We spent most of our first four years hating each other.”.

“I remember,” Juniper smiled, she hadn’t exactly been friendly with her Merula when they first met, and if Jay and this Merula’s experiences were similar, she could picture the amount of patience it must have taken for both of them to get this far. 

“There was one day…” Merula looked down the quiet corridor, “...Frog Choir tryouts. We were competing for the same spot, and I proposed we duel for it.”.

“It was our third year, about the time I started not being sure how I felt about him,” Merula continued, “He agreed, and…”. Merula frowned, and Juniper smirked, finishing the sentence, “And out of pity, you decided to let him win.”.

“Yeah, I let him,” Merula agreed, “But, for some reason, when it came time for the decision to be made, he stepped down. Let me take it.”. Merula morosely laughed, “He said something about, ‘You’ll be a helluva lot better than me, doesn’t hurt I can’t really say no to a pretty face.’. I don’t think I ever thanked him.”. 

“So many times, he’s put his faith in me, trusted me, or even just tried to be nice to me, and for most of the time I’ve known him, I only ever returned by being… well, the worst.”. Merula paused, sitting down on the windowsill of one of the corridor’s massive windows overlooking the Black Lake, “And yet, he insists that he loves me. I don’t even want to know what would happen if the school found out about us.”.

“...Can I tell you a story, Merula?” Juniper asked, sitting down on the windowsill next to Merula, “I promise, there’s a point to it.”. Merula sighed, looking out the window, “Fine, but whatever lesson you’re trying to teach, it won’t work.”. 

“If you insist,” Juniper conceded, “You see, back in my world, there’s a witch, not much older than you. This... witch, who will remain nameless, she… she has a… erm… pet raven. She didn’t adopt it, really, more so she happened upon it, and it slowly became part of her life.”.

“For a while, this girl didn’t want people knowing about her raven, because, well, most witches didn’t _have_ ravens as pets. Most people thought she would find an owl, a snake, something more typical for a witch.”. 

“She was worried that if people knew about her pet raven, it would make things more difficult for both of them, that she’d get judged for having a pet raven, and the raven would look crazy for hanging out with a human.”. 

Juniper leaned back, resting her head on the window behind her, “The witch thought about it a little more, though, and she realized something. Keeping the raven a secret was getting more stressful than just walking around with the raven on her shoulder, and letting what happens happen.”.

“So.. what happened?” Merula asked, and Juniper smiled, responding simply, “Nothing.”. Merula frowned, “What do you mean, ‘nothing’? A girl starts walking around with a raven, and nothing happens?”.

“Well…” Juniper shrugged, “Most of the witch’s friends actually already knew she had the raven. Most people, though? They didn’t really care. A lot of people saw her walking down the hall with the raven on her shoulder and thought, ‘Huh. I didn’t know she had a pet.’ and then never thought about it again.”. 

“I know you don’t exactly have a raven of your own to worry about, Merula,” Juniper looked over at Hogsmeade through the window, “But the snake you _do_ have loves you. And whether you want to keep him under wraps or not is up to you, but he wouldn’t be anywhere but coiled around your arm if he had a choice.”.

“...I’ve always seen Jay as more of a puppy, really,” Merula offered, “Scruffy, dangerously loyal, and easily excited.”. Juniper stood up, offering a hand to Merula, “Well, whatever Jay is to you, and wherever he is, I’m certain he misses you, and I’m pretty close to certain that he’s not getting home without our help.”. 

“That idiot would get lost in a paper bag without my help,” Merula joked, smiling faintly as she added, “...Thank you.”.

* * *

“Hmm…” Dylan followed the tracks once more to their end, where they abruptly cut off, not far down the hill. 

“Have you guys found anything?” Dylan yelled up to his two fellow investigators. 

“An even lower opinion of Gryffindor Students,” Ismelda answered, followed by Barnaby, “Nothing! There’s a lot of snow, though!”. Dylan sighed, the snow had started to fall again, and Jay’s footprints, their only clue, were beginning to fade. 

“Found anything?” Juniper’s voice called from the top of the hill, and Barnaby shouted down to Dylan, “I found Merula and that girl from before!”.

“Great work, Barnaby!” Dylan cheered, starting back up the hill. As he walked up, however, Dylan’s foot caught a small piece of wood buried in the snow. Stumbling slightly to catch himself, Dylan turned around, looking down at the wooden mug that he had just kicked out from under the snow.

“Uh, Raven, do we know what Snake was doing when he vanished?”. Juniper walked down the hill, joined by Merula, Ismelda, and Barnaby, and responded, “Our best theory right now is that he was either on his way to or from the Three Broomsticks.”.

Pulling the mug fully out of the snow, Dylan wiped the metal icon of three crossed brooms clear of snow, saying, “Well, now we know what direction he was headed.”. Juniper leaned down into the snow nearby Dylan, pulling another identical mug out of a small pile of snow. 

“So he was on his way back from the Broomsticks…” Juniper reasoned, and Dylan continued, “...Which means he didn’t walk out on Merula…”.

“...Which means I don’t get to kill him…” Ismelda commented in a disappointed tone, and Barnaby added, “So, if he wasn’t leaving Merula, why didn’t he make it?”. 

“Well, that’s the concerning part, Barnaby,” Dylan said, leading the group down to the end of Jay’s footprints. 

“Check this out,” Dylan crouched down at the end of the footprints, and Juniper did the same, “They’re all kicked up at the back here, these last ones.”. Just as Dylan described, the final prints on the trial were much longer, and very shallow on the longer ends, almost as though Jay had slipped, and his legs shot out behind him.

“But there’s no imprint of a body, so he never hit the snow…” Juniper noted, “And yet, the trail still ends without any other sign of him.”. Dylan stood, resting his chin on his fist, “Well, maybe not. I’m thinking, maybe he _did_ land, get up, and walk away, just not _our_ snow.”.

“You think he landed in another world?” Juniper asked, and Dylan frowned, “I think so. Problem is, if he did, why can’t we get in?”. Looking into the forest, Juniper mentioned, “The entrances to other worlds vanished once we fixed something in them, right? Maybe Jay did that…”. 

“Then he would’ve come back out here, unless…” Dylan looked over at the three Slytherin students next to him, each with varying expressions of confusion on their faces. 

“...Jay wouldn’t let himself get stuck in another world, right?” Juniper mused, now pacing along the path, muttering more to herself than Dylan, “But if the entrance is closed, and he didn’t close it…”.

From on top of the hill, Dylan could see Skylar and Rowan making their way down the path towards them, and Rowan looked a little more shaken than he was when he left.

“Did we miss much, guys?” Skylar asked, and though Juniper spoke up again, it wasn’t really an answer to her question, more Juniper finishing her thought, “...Then we’re not the only people who can mess with these spaces. But, that could mean-”.

Dylan leaned into Juniper, obviously having come to the same conclusion as her, dropping his voice so the others couldn’t hear, “Not here, not in front of his friends.”. 

“Could you guys give us a second?” Dylan asked Jay’s friends, putting on his best Rita Skeeter-Charming celebrity grin.

“Fine by me,” Ismelda dismissively agreed, and Barnaby did the same, though with more concern in his voice than Ismelda. 

“What? No!” Merula denied, however, “Jay’s my- Our friend, too! If you guys know what happened to him, you have to tell us!”. Rowan walked up next to Merula, seemingly having snapped out of the shell-shocked trance he was in a moment ago, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Merula’s right. If there’s any chance we can find Jay, we have a right to know.”.

“I can’t guarantee you’ll like what you’re gonna hear,” Dylan warned, and Rowan locked his gaze to Dylan’s, “I’ve heard plenty of things today I didn’t like. Wherever Jay is, he’s been to, and gotten out of, worse.”. Juniper noticed Skylar shift slightly at Rowan’s assertion, and she remembered what she had read about Skylar’s Rowan. Juniper wondered if Skylar had told him about what happened to her Rowan. 

“Fine,” Dylan caved, “But we’re working off limited knowledge, so we won’t be able to answer everything, and this is the best we’ve got.”.

“We think,” Juniper started to answer, “Someone has the same ability to access parallel universes, like us and Jay.”.

“And, for whatever reason,” Dylan continued, “This person forcibly moved Jay into another world, and then closed the door behind him.”. Skylar covered her mouth with one hand, “So, Jay’s not only missing, he’s not even lost somewhere in this universe?”.

“That may be our best bet,” Juniper grimly confirmed, “Unfortunately, given the theoretical scale presented by the multiverse theory…”.

“...There’s no realistic chance you could ever figure out what universe he’s in,” Rowan coldly finished, “Great. Maybe you should’ve just told us he was dead.”.

“So what you two are saying...” Merula chimed in, her voice quiet, almost a whisper, “...Is that you have no idea where he is, and even if you knew how to find him, the chances to do so are barely above zero.”.

“Well…” Dylan started, but Merula had already started back up the hill, and Rowan turned away, muttering, “Thanks. You guys have been a real help.”.

Barnaby and Ismelda followed close behind, and none of the three made any movement to stop them. Eventually, the three agreed to return to the Archive, where they all sullenly separated to their own worlds.

* * *

Morning rose, and the three students each felt a strange compulsion to return to the Archive, perhaps some desperate part of them was convinced they had missed something critical.

At the moment they all gathered in the mysterious room, moving to take their seats, the three students were struck by a bizarre vision. The stone of the courtyard fountain replaced the chairs below them, and their heads felt heavy. The three looked around, seeing the courtyard was empty, but a boy’s voice came from nearby, asking, “Malfoy?”.

The visions faded, and the three students immediately perked up at the new clue. 

“The courtyard, you guys saw that, right?” Skylar asked, and Dylan nodded, “Sitting on the edge of the fountain, alone, and then a voice.”.

“A half-moon,” Juniper noted, “That’s only a few days from now.”.

“I guess that puts the mourning on hold,” Skylar deduced, “Where should we wait?”. Dylan shrugged, “Were you guys alone on the fountain, too?”. Juniper nodded, “I was, were you, Badger?” Skylar gave a thumbs-up, “Yup. I guess we can’t wait in the same world, since we can’t sit alone all three of us together.”.

“Well, I hope that wasn’t just a mass hallucination,” Dylan laughed, “Otherwise I might feel a little weird sitting out on the fountain alone tonight.”. Juniper nodded, “We all will. For now, though, we have classes to get to, correct?”.

“Yeah, see you guys tonight? I think?” Skylar guessed as she stood up, and Juniper nodded, “Hopefully we will be seeing all four of us tonight.”.

* * *

Striding out of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Jay could hear Draco laughing as he said, _“Did you see him? He damn near split the desk in half when he dove into it!”_. Jay chuckled, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Draco had was far more unhinged than Jay’s own, seeing as the class he had just walked out of had involved a live demonstration of the Unforgivable Curses. The boy Draco was laughing about was one of the test subjects, a raven-haired boy Draco only ever referred to as ‘Potter’, who, in a bid to resist the Imperius Curse, had halfway jumped onto the professor’s desk, more throwing himself at it than landing on it.

“Not like we did much better, though,” Jay reminded Draco, thinking about when the professor had turned the curse on him. 

_“I’d say we did better than Potter,”_ Draco defended, _“Even if you did look completely mad.”._

* * *

_“Imperio,”_ the one-eyed professor growled as he snapped his wand at Jay. Immediately, Jay felt his vision go white, and all his muscles felt limp, as though he were floating, and his mind dropped blank of all thought.

“Why not dance for us? Jump up onto your desk and give us a show,” A voice suggested, and Jay felt himself move to comply, but Draco’s voice cut through the gentle whisper, _“What? Absolutely not!”_.

“Come on, do it!” The voice suggested, and Jay felt himself crouch down to jump, but Draco’s voice cut through again, _“Come on, don’t do this in my body! Get back into your own body before you start dancing like mad!”._

“Not… gonna do… it…” Jay muttered through gritted teeth, forcing his muscles to flex, trying to break the trance as the voice softly repeated, “Come now, just let go…”.

“Let... go? If you insist... Heh… heheheh…” Jay started to laugh, pulling his lips into a mad grin as he gritted his teeth, and Draco repeated over the whispers, _“Don’t let Potter show us up! Anything he can do, I can do better!”._

Jay felt one of his hands instinctively reach up to where his dagger is stored in his jacket, moving as though he were entering a battle as a mad joy pushed itself up from his chest, the same feeling that took him through so many of his duels.

 ** _“EEEHAHAHAHA!”_** Jay cackled madly, throwing his head back as he jumped straight up into the air, throwing his arms out wide behind him as he landed, straightening himself into his dueling stance as the cackling continued to sweep through him. Slowly, Jay composed himself, looking around the classroom, and after a brief silence, Jay sat back down, remaining silent for the rest of the class.

* * *

“Yeah… I’m not super proud of that,” Jay admitted, turning a corner into an empty corridor, and Draco quickly said, _“Wrong turn, Rosewood, this goes nowhere.”._

“Right, my bad,” Jay turned back around to leave the corridor, but noticed a student standing in the way. Potter, the raven-haired boy with the glasses from the class Jay had just left was standing in front of him, a glowering expression on his face. 

_“Great,”_ Draco sarcastically cheered, _“Jay, meet Harry Potter. The single most annoying person in Hogwarts.”_

-End Chapter 18-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (...I don't even have a witty remark this time, this just took way too long. Sorry about the wait for this one, my writing patterns are getting more erratic than my sleep schedule. Hopefully, the length makes up for it. Unless you don't like that this one is way longer, in which case, sorry 'bout that too.)
> 
> (As always, thanks for coming by, and let me know if there's somewhere I can improve, or if by some miracle, there was something you particularly enjoyed!)


	19. -The Boy Who Lived-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay runs into an acquaintance of Draco's, who may be starting to catch on that something's not right, while raising some suspicions of Jay's own. Meanwhile, his disappearance starts weighing on both the people he loves, as well as the people he is. Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct.

Jay held awkward eye contact with the boy Draco introduced as Harry Potter for several seconds, glancing up and down the corridor to avoid the boy’s burning glare. After several more moments of uncomfortable silence, Jay eventually spoke up, pointing in between Potter and himself as he spoke.

“So… are you going to say something, or are you waiting for me?” Jay asked, and Potter shook his head, angrily asking, “What are you playing at, Malfoy?”.

“Playing at?” Jay repeated, confused, “You mean what happened in class? Sue me for trying to excel in my studies, Potter.”. Jay leaned in, pulling Draco’s mouth into a smug grin, the same he used to taunt Merula with, as he added, “What, upset that I showed up your little performance today?”. Potter huffed, “You were acting mad. That laughing, it didn’t sound like you.”.

 _“What’s got him all wound up?”_ Draco wondered, _“For that matter, since when does Potter care whether I sound like me?”_. Jay grinned, he knew the answer to Draco’s question, or at the very least, he had a pretty good guess.

“Potter…” Jay put a hand up to his chest, dropping his chin and leaning down slightly, exaggerating a touched expression, “Are you… worried about me?”. Potter stepped back, startled by Jay’s suddenly softer tone, but quickly composed himself, responding firmly, “Absolutely not. I’ve just got enough to worry about without something happening with you, too.”.

“So you just haven’t got time for me anymore, Potter?” Jay glanced down at the floor of the corridor, frowning, “I’m hurt, Potter, truly I am.”. 

_“Stop talking like that!”_ Draco hissed, _“I don’t give a damn what he thinks of me, and if you keep talking like I do, you’re going to tip him off that you’re not me, because that’s not how I talk!”_.

“It’s a goading remark, Draco,” Jay whispered to the boy in his head, “I’m just trying to annoy him out of talking to me, nothing more. No need to get flustered about it.”.

 _“I’m not being flustered! I hate Potter, and you’re halfway to flirting with him! Just get this to end before he catches on that you’re not me!”_. 

“Well, Potter…” Jay stretched his arms up over his head, faking a yawn, “It’s been a joy to hear your concern, but I need to go find someone worth my time to talk to.”.

Jay strode past Potter, smirking to himself as he asked Draco, “There, how was that for the boy you hate so much?”. 

_“Still a bit too nice,”_ Draco criticized, _“I think something like… ‘but that could be anyone’ at the end might have been a nice touch.”._ Jay laughed, startling a trio of second-years walking by, “You really hate that guy, huh? I mean, you must if you’re putting this much thought into how you talk to him…”.

 _“Stop what you’re saying, Rosewood. I don’t care how lovey you are with that Snyde girl that hated you, I despise Harry Potter, and that’s the end of that statement,”_ Draco snapped as Jay wandered down to the dungeons, _“New topic. Where are we going?”_.

“We have a break,” Jay answered, wandering down to the end of the hall, “It’s been a long day, and I need to blow off some steam in my favorite room in this school.”.

 _“There’s nothing down here, Rosewood, nothing but the old dueling club room,”_ Draco informed, and Jay paused in the center of the corridor, “Old? There’s a new one? Mind pointing me there?”.

 _“Fine, but don’t damage my body.”_.

As he followed Draco’s directions, a question popped up in Jay’s head he couldn’t seem to shake.

* * *

The quiet, dusty rows of books in the Hogwarts Library usually were a calming environment for Juniper, and resting her head on Merula’s lap, draped over one of the sofas lining the Library would normally leave her borderline comatose. That day, though, there was just too much flying through her head at once, the vision from the Archive had left her spinning all day. 

“It’s been thirty minutes and you haven’t fallen asleep,” Merula sighed, running a hand through Juniper’s hair, “What did you screw up?”. 

“A master of tact as always, Merula…” Juniper rolled onto her side, pressing her face into Merula’s stomach, “...If someone told you I was dead, what would you want them to say next?”. Merula leaned down and kissed the top of Juniper’s head, answering matter-of-factly, “I’d want them to tell me who did it so I can curse them into a paste and scorch whatever was left. Why?”.

“I was hoping for something more along the lines of reassurance or condolences,” Juniper mumbled, and Merula pushed her onto her back, locking eyes with her, “I don’t do ‘condolences’. There’d be plenty of time to move on from you once I had avenged you.”.

“Well, I’m honored…” Juniper tapped her forehead against Merula’s, “But usually when you give someone bad news, my less socially inept acquaintances say you’re supposed to have something nice to say to soften the blow.”.

“That can depend on who you’re talking to,” Merula reasoned, idly raking her nails along Juniper’s scalp, “Someone as cold and unfeeling as, say, Snape, you could probably tell him his entire family died in a fire and his expression wouldn’t twitch.”.

“But someone more emotionally vulnerable…” Merula started, and Juniper smiled as she said, “Like you?”. Merula glared down at Juniper, dropping her hand away from her head and placing it over Juniper’s face, “Do you want my help or not?”.

“Sorry, continue,” Juniper apologized, reaching up with one hand and lacing her fingers in between Merula’s, who looked up at a group of third-years that had stopped to stare at them, and made a ‘Move along’ gesture with her free hand.

“Who are you giving bad news to, anyway? Not like you to be so beaten up over something like this…” Merula brushed an errant strand of hair out of Juniper’s face, who sighed, “You remember Jay, right? The Slytherin that came from another world?”.

“Remember him? I still get headaches thinking about the guy,” Merula rolled her eyes, returning her hand to gliding through Juniper’s hair. Juniper cuddled up closer to Merula, a somber look on her face, “Well, he has a similar relationship to his version of you that you have to me.”. Merula held the index finger of her other hand out, tracing several lines through the air as she said, “So… You, but not quite you, is in a romantic-slash-rivalrous relationship with me, but not quite me.”.

“Yeah, and yesterday, I had to tell you-but-not-quite-you, that her boyfriend, me-but-not-quite-me, was lost somewhere in the multiverse, with minuscule-to-impossible odds of ever being heard from again.”.

“And then she stormed off, probably in quiet rage, on the verge of tears, or both,” Merula finished, stroking Juniper’s head with her thumb. Juniper nodded, “Yeah, that’s exactly what happened, how did you know?”.

“That’s exactly what I’d do if some stranger that claimed to be an alternate-world double of my girlfriend told me that,” Merula sighed, “She’s confused, probably even more than I am, and, even though it feels wrong saying it about myself, she’s scared.”.

“Look at you, admitting when you’re scared,” Juniper commended, and Merula flicked the girl in her lap on the forehead as she corrected, “Wrong, I’m admitting when this other Merula is scared. I’m just making sure the only person in this school I can mostly tolerate doesn’t approach something so delicate in the wrong way.”.

“You think I should go back?” Juniper asked, and Merula tapped Juniper’s nose, “I know you have a plan to figure this out, you’ve got that glint in your eyes. First, though, I want you to sit right here for a little longer, get some actual rest.”.

“Thanks, Merula…” Juniper turned onto her other side, reassuring herself, “Wherever Jay is, I’m sure he’s handling himself carefully, and he’s fighting tooth and nail to come home.”.

“And how can you be so sure?” Merula asked, slowly stroking Juniper’s long swath of dark hair, and Juniper smiled to herself, “Because that’s what I’d do for you.”.

* * *

Jay pushed open the door to the Duelling Club room, and upon seeing the room, there was no real way to describe the feeling that swept through him as anything other than a childlike giddiness. 

The room was massive, especially compared to the relatively cramped area in the dungeons, and the windows drafting sunlight into the room, as well as the shelves of dueling books made the area feel more like a club meeting room, rather than the fight-club-esque room Jay was familiar with. 

Around him, there were several rows of what seemed to be slightly raised platforms, most of which had anywhere from two to six students on them, engaged in what looked like a spectrum of duels, from friendly sparring to legitimate competition. Above him, Jay spotted what looked like a second level, the floor of which was made of some kind of glass, because Jay could see students recuperating from their duels, touching up their wands, and studying the duels below.

“It’s like Christmas morning…” Jay whispered in awe to himself, turning and walking up the staircase to the second floor, “...The club back home is nice, but…”. 

_“Are you… crying?”_ Draco asked, a mix of concern and disgust in his voice, and Jay sniffed as he felt his eyes start to water, “A little. It’s just… all it’s missing is a lineup of people I can duel.”. 

“Malfoy?” A boy asked from across the spectator’s platform, and Jay looked up to see a young man marching over to him, recognizing the voice from his arrival in Hogsmeade. The boy looked similar to Charlie, actually, as Jay took a closer look at the approaching Gryffindor Student, he had a lot of traits that matched all of the Weasley brothers, though his tone was far more aggressive than the brothers Jay knew as he asked, “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”. 

This must be Ron Weasley, Jay deduced, the youngest of the Weasley brothers, who wasn’t supposed to be in Hogwarts until the year after Jay left the school. 

“What a wonderful question, Weasley,” Jay snarked, pushing his deductions aside for a moment to sarcastically gesture around the room, “Why would I have come to the duelling room, designated as the meeting place for the Hogwarts Duelling Club, this room that was designed for duelling?”. Jay mocked putting a hand up to his chin deductively, “Now why, oh why, would I do that…?”.

“Oi, Everett?” Ron turned to talk to a Hufflepuff girl about Jay’s age, not Draco’s, her nose currently buried in a book on dueling techniques, “Are there any stages that haven’t been booked? I just found myself a practice dummy.”.

Jay grinned, he probably went a bit far with the goading, but he had realized by now that being friendly with the Weasley boy in front of him, as well as that Potter boy from before, just wasn’t going to help. The girl Ron called Everett pulled a small sheet off the side of the chair she was lounging in, scanning it briefly before answering, “Four’s open. Play nice. I’m not walking you down to Pomfrey.”.

“Now hold on a moment, Weasley…” Jay put a hand up as he realized something, and his smile widened, “I can’t imagine you’re the only person in the school who’s got a score to settle with me.”.

“I’m sure there’s plenty, Malfoy, what’re you playing at?” Ron asked, and Draco followed, _“Yes… what are you-”_. Jay could picture realization dawning on Draco’s face as he trailed off, before starting to demand, _“No. Absolutely not, under no circumstances are you-”_.

“Perfect!” Jay cheered, cutting Draco off, “Round them up, and have them queue up behind you! I’ll meet you in the arena!”. Jay turned around and made his way back down the staircase as Draco hissed, _“Are you mad? I thought you were only looking for a duel, not a gauntlet!”_. Jay chuckled, striding to the far side of the dueling rectangle marked with a four, “A little, yeah, it’s part of the fun. Now, let’s see… standard dueling rules, knock them out of the line or make them tap out?”.

 _“You’re mad. You really are,”_ Draco shot as Jay drew Draco’s wand, stepping into his dueling stance. His left leg slid straight out, dropping most of his weight onto his right leg, which bent slightly. His left arm, where Jay would hold his dagger, if he had it, pushed out in front of him, slightly concealing his wand in his right hand, which drew back near his face, as Ron, and a short line of other students came down the stairs behind him.

Jay snickered as Ron stepped onto the opposite end of the platform, drawing up into his dueling stance, and a magical voice gave a count.

“Three…” Jay pulled in a deep breath, feeling the little restraints on his chest release, and his smirk sharpened into a toothy grin.

“Two…” Jay’s muscles relaxed, and shook out his arms, jumping slightly in place, and he let his dueling instincts take over.

“One...” His ‘Mad Dog’ persona, was the affectionate name he had given it. A false mask of violent insanity, one he’d crafted to throw his enemies off, and, more personally, as a way to vent any emotions he couldn’t vent any other way. It’d worked for him so far, and as Jay let his snicker grow into a howling cackle, the rush of released tension washed out that annoying question in his head, if only for a moment.

“Begin!”

* * *

Elsewhere, the Slytherin dormitory was quiet, though not empty. Many students were in the common room, studying, completing classwork, or simply resting on the couches. The dormitory rooms themselves were mostly empty, and the few that weren’t only had the odd student searching for a textbook or taking a nap.

In one common room in particular, though, four Slytherin students were sitting across the room, none able to think of something to say, let alone say it.

Rowan hadn’t slept a moment the previous night, and barely registered anything that had happened that day. The normally studious student felt as though he were working solely on muscle memory, drifting from class to class, the words he had heard the previous night rebounding over and over through his head. 

Rowan glanced up again to Jay’s empty bed, untouched from when he had jolted awake the previous morning, save for the messy-haired girl sitting on the edge, staring down at a cypress wand in her hands. 

Merula had turned up to his door early that morning, still wrapped in the black bomber jacket, her sunken, exhausted face clearly displaying she had slept just as poorly, if not worse than Rowan, asking if she could come in. When Rowan had asked why, all Merula answered with was, “I don’t know where else to go.”.

Ismelda and Barnaby had followed later in the day, and though Barnaby was certainly much more open with his distress over the previous day, nearly shattering Rowan’s ribcage in a sobbing bear hug when he arrived, Ismelda, someone Rowan considered borderline sadistic, was visibly shaken. 

The silence of the room was broken by Barnaby, who quietly asked, “What… What do you think he would say to us?”. Rowan thought for a moment, “Probably something about what we’re doing moping, how he’s not actually dead yet.”.

“But he’s gone,” Merula whispered, “Weren’t you listening? He might as well be dead.”. 

“Since when does the Most Powerful Witch in Hogwarts throw in the towel so quickly?” Rowan asked, and Merula glared at him, “Don’t start with that shit. Do you have any idea where to start? Huh? Our best and only leads told us they have zero fucking clue what to do, and even if they did, we wouldn’t be able to help them anyway.”.

“I know!” Rowan shouted, “I know! It’s impossible, I can barely follow it, and we have no idea where to start, but I’m not giving up on my friend just because some girl I don’t know said so!”. 

“That girl has more experience in this than we have, Khanna,” Ismelda reminded, “Why would you even bother with this? The chances of you finding anything useful…”.

“Because he’d do the same for all of us!” Rowan yelled, “Because he doesn’t care if something’s possible or not, he just cares about us!”.

“He loves us,” Rowan leaned forward, away from the headboard of his bed, “And wherever he is, he’s trying to make his way home.”. 

Merula laid back on Jay’s bed, slipping Jay's wand back into the small pocket sewn into the inside of the jacket. 

“I never let him tell anyone…” Merula mumbled, “...He loved me, and I told him to keep it quiet. Even if I told anyone now…”.

“Maybe he’s telling people about what happened!” Barnaby suggested, “Maybe wherever he is, he’s already got a whole crew of people together, and they’re all working together to get him home!”.

* * *

“GYAHAHA!” Jay cackled as another student landed just outside the platform, and Draco grumbled, _“It’s been four matches since you beat Weasley, can you please use **one** healing charm? You’ve already gotten my body beaten harder in twenty minutes than I have in four years.”_.

“Fine, fine…” Jay conceded, flicking his wand around himself and muttering, _“Episkey”_. Jay took a moment to shake himself out before looking over to the far end of the dueling platform as he yelled, “Awright! Who’s next? Come on, there were so many of you before!”.

The group that had followed Ron down to duel Jay earlier had shrunk significantly, most simply seeing the line and deciding against it, and some that stayed to watch often found themselves walking away when they saw the boy they thought was Draco Malfoy duel.

“Aww… Are we done already? Come on, surely there’s at least one more of ya!” Jay demanded, turning away slightly in disappointment.

 _“Oh, boo hoo, you only got to duel five people instead of fifteen. What a tragedy,”_ Draco sniped, _“I think it’s a sign, as good as this is for my reputation, we need to tap out before someone better than us shows up.”_.

“Aww, but that’s half the fun!” Jay complained, “Come on, let’s just see if-”.

“Malfoy,” As if on cue, a familiar voice called for Jay’s attention from the opposite end of the dueling space. Turning around, Jay saw the raven-haired boy from earlier, Potter, staring at him fiercely from across the dueling platform.

“Hehehee… Harry Potter...” Jay chuckled, before suddenly increasing his volume to a partial shout, “Did you come all this way for me?”.

“I came for answers, whoever you are,” Potter glared at Jay, “I’m not interested in wasting my time.”.

“Well now…” Jay put a fist up under his chin, “Isn’t that a problem… Y’see, I was hoping for a good duel… but if all you want is to ask me some questions…”.

“I get it,” Potter interrupted, “I’ll give you a duel. But if I win, you have to give me some answers, proper ones.”. Jay leaned back as he screeched with laughter, “EEEHAHAHA! Well, that’s all I wanted to hear! Sure, Potter, if you can beat me, I’ll answer any questions you have for me!”.

Potter drew his wand, and Jay sunk back into his dueling stance, still unable to shake the annoying question in his head.

Where had he heard Potter’s voice before?

-End Chapter 19-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Almost a month? Jeez, I am not getting better at this. Nothing really to report this time, other than things might get a little hard to follow at first later on, but I swear, most of it pans out in the end. I hope.)
> 
> (As always, thanks for coming by, and let me know if there's somewhere I can improve, or something you particularly enjoyed!)


End file.
